AGWHAAT: The Dance Scene

From the beginning of this clip Sheila Vand who plays ‘The Girl’ (a vampire) looks quite poignantly like a fish out of water as she wanders around this modern apartment with its ridiculously decadent yet tacky decor, such as the glowing fish tank which she stands aside at the beginning of this clip. On first appearance ‘The Girl’ feels like a pastiche of Count Dracula (Dracula, 1931), Patricia (Breathless, 1960) and Mathilda (Leon: The Professional, 1994). But it’s her movements that take on a distinctly non-human quality that make her feel more like a serpent waiting to strike, than any kind of pre-used character archetype. ‘The girl’s’ slow turns – keeping her head so upright it feels almost tilted slightly back and striking black hood – that drapes softly over her body – make her appear like a cobra arched upright, slithering slowly through Saeed’s (Dominic Rains) apartment. We watch ‘The Girl’ watch Saeed as he listens to music, snorts coke, smokes a cigarette, counts his money, lifts some weights and dances provocatively. As ‘The Girl’ watches Saeed fulfil a number of gluttonous and self-obsessed human behaviours she aligns herself with a snake watching it’s prey. She’s uninterested in what he does, or why he’s doing it, the only reason she is watching him is to to keep track of his physical body as she waits to strike.

Saeed unaware of her ulterior motives is parading around the room like a walking testosterone advertisement, indulging and feeding his own ego. Unawares to him, is that he is also indulging ‘The Girl’, wetting her appetite as she prepares to literally feed on him. As ‘The Girl’ strikes one of the drum kits cymbals – hitting a discordant note, Saeed walks directly to her as if beckoned by this ancient sounding chime. With her back to Saeed ‘The Girl’ appears as the typical victim, about to be done in or sexually assaulted by this young, huffed up, drug dealer. Saaed approaches all beady eyed and eager, reaching out to ‘The Girl’s’ basilisk shaped hood, and in keeping with her cobra inspired mannerisms she turns her head and body around slowly to face him – neck and body moving as if one solid formation. Saeed strokes her face and places his finger in her mouth, unaware that the balance of power had in fact shifted even before this scene had begun. ‘The Girl’ then reels back and strikes, biting his finger clean off, Saeed staring at her in disbelief.

The films title ‘A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night’ makes much more sense after viewing this scene, as it suddenly becomes apparent that the title is not to be read as the usual ‘A girl walks home alone at night – potential victim trope’, that statement is intended to be read as a warning. No longer is ‘a girl walking home alone at night’ scary for ‘the girl’ involved, but rather it is scary for the people who run into her, becoming one of her victims. As this scene portrays the girl appears like the typical victim – petite and superficially submissive, but behind that delicate (however stone cold) exterior is a cold blooded killer.

 

Until next time,
Louise Alice Wilson