Her Smell

Superstar Elizabeth Moss plays rock star Becky in Her Smell, Moss’ third collaboration with director Alex Ross Perry. Becky is at the height of her career as a lead singer in the band Something She, yet at rock bottom as a human being. She seethes, hisses, sneers, explodes in rage, drinks, and snorts cocaine with both hands. Becky is given everything on a silver platter from those who are closest to her: trust and forgiveness, a record contract and new chances aplenty, young and exciting talents to work with. In the next moment she throws it all away, like a new toy that she’s grown tired of.

The mythology of pop and rock is something that has fascinated many filmmakers through the years, and for good reason. If you have been seduced by A Star Is Born or exhilarated by Vox Lux in the last year, Her Smell is almost mandatory viewing. More than those two films, this is a tale of how the bonds of band mates can be stronger even than that of family. It is an intense film, made up of five long scenes; and if Her Smell has any smell of its own it’s the stench of anxiety, destruction and backstage benders.

At least, that is, for a very long time. Alex Ross Perry has made it his trademark to make films about talented and wildly unlikeable people, but in this case he lets in a tiny sliver of light in the darkness. Could it be that atonement and redemption are possible, even for someone as genuinely hopeless as Becky? For those who are willing to invest time and energy into this film, a profound sense of satisfaction awaits.