Plucked is written, directed, and stars Katie Vincent. Co-written and co-directed with Usher Morgan, and set between the 1880s and 1890s, the film begins with Katherine (Vincent) receiving a letter in the mail. She slips away from the maid, Maggie (Catherine Curtin), and sneaks outside. The privately read letter discloses that Katherine’s request for a divorce from her emotionally unstable husband has been granted. Just then, her husband, Peter (Jared Canfield), waltzes on up and berates her for being outside instead of getting ready for their dinner party. Katherine makes a snide remark or two and slinks away to appease Peter.
During the soiree, Katherine cannot keep her contempt to herself. Her blunt and biting comments shock the guests. But the more alcohol is consumed, the more the mask of civility drops for everyone. Before long, the night devolves into chaos and violence. Will the independent-seeking Katherine survive to get her freedom? Or will the stifles of society and her smothering marriage to the crazy Peter be her doom?
Plucked uses a modern rock song in the beginning and end. While the song is good and matches the themes well, its use is jarring. It sets up a modern time frame, as it largely plays over a shot of the house from the outside. Since the soundtrack is largely a compositional score, the film doesn’t even lean into a Baz Luhrmann-esque, intentionally juxtaposing old and new style of song use, etc. As such, as good as the song is, it throws audiences for a loop that takes a few minutes to get out of, even after the song ends. Perhaps it would have been best used as the ending credits song.
Peter, played by Jared Canfield, stares down a guest with a glass in hand at the dinner party in Plucked.
“The privately read letter discloses that Katherine’s request for a divorce from her emotionally unstable husband has been granted.”
With that being said, once audiences can fully invest in the era and setup, the film works. The dialogue crackles with quips and one-liners. The good here is that the dialogue never winks at itself, so every biting remark still makes perfect sense in context. The more reserved lines establish the way in which people must change who they are to fit a mold they don’t even enjoy. Of course, the writers are smart enough to know that this way of thinking affects women more than men, as females weren’t afforded the same rights as men. Vincent and Morgan make their point in a comedic yet relatable way.
Story-wise, Plucked takes a few unexpected twists and turns. One supporting character that I was certain was going to wind up dead survives the whole ordeal. The motivations for Katherine and Peter make sense, especially as their respective whys come to light. There’s a sequence involving a nightmare wedding (kind of) that nicely puts all watching into the lead’s headspace.
The acting is as good as the writing. Vincent is pure fun. She’s frustrating, fun, smart, and yet too naive to see an obvious trap. In other words, she is relatably flawed, and the actor makes a meal out of bringing the character’s dimensions to life. At first, Canfield plays Peter as meek around everyone but Katherine. As the narrative goes along, his acting becomes more commanding and heartbroken, leading to erratic behavior. Witnessing these two play off each other is terrific fun.
Plucked has something to say and does so in a mostly entertaining way. The use of the rock song doesn’t quite work, but the rest of the film does. The writing is intelligent and its message clear. The acting is incredible from all, but especially the two leads. All in all, Vincent and Morgan have crafted a satire with everything viewers could want.
For more information, visit the official Plucked site.
"…has something to say and does so in a mostly entertaining way."
