Review | Bottoms (2023)
Bottoms, starring Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri and directed by Emma Seligman, gained significant traction in the United States when it premiered at the SXSW festival and has since generated a lot of hype worldwide.
Two high school senior girls set up a “fight club” to hook up with cheerleaders before graduation.
The experience of watching Bottoms is quite familiar at times and different at others. The combination of common themes in teen comedies such as school, teachers, clubs, among other things, is present here. However, I believe the way Seligman found to subvert the subgenre is quite eccentric and whimsical. Rejecting the verismilar and embracing exaggeration is truly brilliant and a intense way to work and explore the themes and the genre of the film as a whole.
That being said, Bottoms is a film of positioning. It invites the viewer to think and face the reality in which the characters are placed. In this sense, it proves to be a richer and more successful film than others that influenced it. Moreover, this is due to special treatment by the director, the themes addressed, and the stylized, violent, satirical, and hilarious way of telling this story.
The surrealistic setting imposed by the director here is truly wonderful. The notion that the universe is the school and that reality is, in a way, altered, and all that matters to the characters is to be seen and recognized for who they are, is very well developed. However, it imposes certain limits on the plot, so that maturity and youth take a back seat. Thus, the message that the director wants to convey is visible, and this was the balance she found.
Rachel Sennott navigates well between drama and comedy and portrays a chaotic and somehow, a perverse character. However, Ayo Edebiri is also great and has a kinder character that, in a way, is even closer to reality. The supporting cast does an excellent job and, in my view, has room to shine. Thus, Havana Rose Liu and Kaia Gerber establish the viewer’s sense of importance for their characters and have a strong presence in the plot.
Emma Seligman, in collaboration with Rachel Sennott, exudes creativity in the script. Jokes, ironies, and opinions are inserted in a very natural way into the dialogue. The conversations are always funny and often reflective. This is evident, for example, in the interactions between the students and their teacher, played by Marshawn Lynch, who is simply hilarious in his role in Bottoms.
Finally, I emphasize that the aesthetics of the final scene are simply amazing. The use of slow-motion to highlight violence, underscore your positioning, and conclude the development of all those characters. In this way, it is confirmed that the use of surrealism and a departure from verisimilitude, in a way, favors the creation of an opera, filled with visual comedy, ferocity, and empowerment.
Due to the wonderful chemistry among the cast and the sensational stylization throughout the entire feature film, as well as the interesting choice of songs for the film, resulting in a great scene that serves as a key point for the beginning of the final act. The most likely scenario for Bottoms is that it becomes a cult classic among teenagers, where people will use the characters’ costumes at costume parties and watch the film repeatedly.
Bottoms is surprising. It is practically impossible to think of an outcome like this based solely on its poster and synopsis. The film displays sensational and disturbing scenes that embrace exaggeration, managing to corrupt, in a strangely positive way, conventions of teen movies. A feature film that travels into dramatic themes and becomes enjoyable for being authentic. Fortunately, in the end, it avoids the Manicheism that could have been inserted.
