In director Alex Ross Perry's new film, Queen of Earth, Elizabeth Moss portrays Catherine, a woman who goes to spend a week at her best friend's lake house after losing her father and breaking up with her boyfriend. But her self-proclaimed "week in exile" doesn't exactly go according to plan, as Catherine slowly descends into madness, turning on her best friend when she begins spending time with a man from the area. The movie hits some seriously creepy and unsettling tones, and it seems like it could be something that really happened (though I hope that isn't the case). So, is Queen of Earth based on a true story?
Nope. Queen of Earth comes from the mind of Perry, who wrote the film in addition to directing it. The movie is made in the style of an older psychological thriller (just watch the trailer and you'll see what I mean), with Variety calling Perry a "cinephile with a pronounced affection for late 1960s/early 1970s alt-Hollywood cinema." Perry considers Robert Altman's 1972 thriller Images to be the film's biggest influence, but he also notes Woody Allen's film Interiors from 1978 as an inspiration for the film, according to Variety.
Like that movie, Queen of Earth is the first film by its director that is not a comedy. But Perry isn't the only one going against type in the movie. Moss has never played a character quite like this, either. Menacing, insane, unstable... I just keep wondering what level-headed Peggy Olson from Mad Men would think of the role. Luckily, I don't have to worry anymore! Thanks to the magic of GIFs, I know Peggy's entire thought process on Moss's performance in Queen of Earth.
When She First Heard How Crazy She Would Be
She Had Some Initial Confusion
But Then She Found Out About The Film's '60s/'70s Influence
And Became Super Confident
So She Started Practicing How To Be Crazy
And Creepy
And Realized She Would Own This Movie
So She Decides To Leave Mad Men Behind
And Shut Down Any Haters
Because Once This Movie Hits Theaters
Everyone Will Know What A Strong Actress Elisabeth Moss Is
I always knew you were, Peggy. I knew you were.
Images: IFC Films; Giphy (11)
