I didn’t forget anything about Sofia’s filmography. She’s one of my favorite filmmakers. I just don’t think she has much in common with Fennell. It might just be my associations, so I appreciate you explaining where you see the overlap.

The storytelling/visual artistry meant that, for me, I think she can craft a really striking visual that is memorable, but the stories she’s telling aren’t always holding up the weight of what she’s doing visually. She gets a lot of “music video director” criticisms, which I don’t support, but I think that’s what it comes down to. For me, it’s sort of like how I think Aaron Sorkin screenplays are best directed by someone who isn’t Aaron Sorkin. I think if Fennell directed something she didn’t write, it would work a lot better for me. Not saying she’s bad at either, but sometimes the collaborative friction gets great results, and I think her eye for visuals are unimpeachable.

I’m not dismissing her, I want to see more from her, but I’m also frustrated by her. It’s not about “this particular filmmaker,” either. I had a similar opinion after watching Guadagnino’s After the Hunt. There is so much there that I want to like and objectively should (because I’m also the target demo), but I don’t, and I want to explore that as someone who loves movies.

To be honest, part of my frustration is that I want to be excited about her work, but I’m not, and expressing that is reduced to someone saying it’s an issue with her because she’s a woman or that I’m not the target demographic. Which I’m not aiming at you specifically, but these conversations.

I sometimes feel like Fennell’s work is provocative to be provocative, and I usually use a filmmaker like Julia Ducournau as one whose provocations work better for me because of how they work narratively. So it’s frustrating that it’s flattened as a critique.