One can’t fault Linton for lack of commitment. Even though she’s pulling triple duty, she gives her performance as Catherine her all. That does not mean it’s a good performance. She keeps hammering the same note; ultimately, the character remains an enigma and not a compelling one at that. Is Catherine supposed to have transcended mere superficiality? Then why does she blabber on about her material possessions? Is her murderous streak caused by trauma, or simply a vehement disregard for men? Is she the product of her environment? She is intelligent enough to speak every language on the planet but dumb enough to mispronounce basic English words. Even Westwick seems unsure of how to react to her character, so he goes with aghast.
The constant breaking of the fourth wall doesn’t help matters. Asides like, “Did you know that there are no fuc*ing spiders in Antarctica?” do little to move the plot forward. The 1980’s vibe – neon colors, kitschy production design, an incessant soundtrack of overused classics – comes off as clichéd and perfunctory. Everything is just too much, which is the point, and it’s headache-inducing.
“…[Linton] gives her performance as Catherine her all.”
Linton’s film basically amounts to a cheap knock-off hybrid of American Psycho and Promising Young Woman. What these films accomplished with finesse feels labored under Linton’s heavy hand. Satire requires more than mere preaching to the choir. Subverting tropes requires knowing the tropes. Me You Madness feels like a collection of rants strung together, with the serial killer plot tacked on, perfectly exemplified in the scene where Catherine just lists off film titles in an attempt to be meta-referential. The entire enterprise reeks of a vanity project, despite (or because of) Linton’s constant digs at her own image.
Me You Madness does have its humorous moments, and the sheer momentum of the thing, along with the ferocious devotion of its star/filmmaker, at least makes it somewhat watchable. It just could’ve been so much more. Or, rather, it shouldn’t have been at all.
"…ferocious devotion [from] its star/filmmaker..."
