Pinprick

What originally piqued my interest in Pinprick was how cleverly matched the plot seemed to be with L'immoralita, a film I had recently discussed. The closest interpretation on Daniel Young's Pinprick could lend hints of Breillat's À ma sœur! but only after digging well underneath the feminine tissue. One thing that really struck a chord with me was our young star Laura Greenwood's performance. In Pinprick, Greenwood plays a radically rebellious teenager, aged 15, who festers an unbearable relationship with her mother. In a fit of retaliation, unknown to us or the camera, she decides to foster a criminal in her closet, feeding him scraps and entertaining his presence by wearing revealing clothing. In many scenes, Daniel Young incorporates visible signs of reality, not just script-writing, but an experience all together in realism. Pinprick is not a window into fictitious psychopathy but a careful portrait of, quite literally, the dangers of innocence. 

Greenwood's character, Charlotte, is quickly introduced in her bedroom talking to a shadow in her closet. Not bumbling about with origins or needless explanation and sifting through scenes, Pinprick begins before we even realize it. Ervin Nagy plays Reyer, our enigmatic prisoner of this sterile domicile. Reyer is a character who possesses immense presence with his Hungarian features. He's certainly an intimidating character and the games he has in store for this unwitting family only add to his curious and repressed behavior. Daniel Young doesn't waste any time establishing the strange, almost teasingly pedophilic, relationship between the brutish Reyer and the budding flower Charlotte. I'd call Pinprick jailbait terrorism as scenes are juxtaposed to both titillate and warn you. In a certainly complex nature, Charlotte's character bounces around in panties, expressing her flourishing curves in a manner that is all too beguiling and impossible to resist. Pinprick then gives you a slap on the hand for eying the lovely dame as such a meat. What lies within this relapsing of lust is a strong point of Pinprick. The name of the game is passive fetishism and Laura Greenwood makes damn sure that every viewer is paying attention.

The battle soon switches targets as Reyer begins scoping out Charlotte's homely mother, Miriam, portrayed by Rachael Blake. I suppose the tedious girl-games wore thin for Reyer as he sets into motion a plan to assimilate himself within the household, allowing complete and total freedom, including the sexual kind. Charlotte, noticing Reyer has been intimate with her mother, begins to grow a sizable fear and jealously. There's much more to the plot of Pinprick, which is delicately delivered at the very end of the film. A "twist" so mellow and radical that I should have seen it coming, but never did. Reyer, the Hungarian opportunist, is shed upon as a brooding character with a strange fascination for the toys of the bourgeois. Pinprick is the first "independent" feature I've seen in quite some time that I can solemnly swear to seep substance. Not only does the film play all fronts of battle but impales the typical daughter as well. Pinprick attests to the terror of angsty girlhood. While Charlotte suffers from susceptible and impressionistic behavior, one might argue she's not as rotten as her friends; one being a young Latino whore who receives a tattoo at an all-too young age. Charlotte expresses her distaste at the decision, all while realizing she too is irrational.

 To return once more to the inextricable relation to L'immoralita, both Pinprick and the aforementioned Italian psychodrama share common similarities. Both films involve little girls hiding criminals away from their parents and share interest in mature mothers seducing or being seduced by said criminal. This leads to the familial meltdown in both pictures. Also shared is a scene of listening in on consummation which leads to the young ladies either sobbing or being noticeably distressed. Laura Greenwood's defining curves tackle the topic of ageless sex head on. Just as Simona proved in L'immoralita, these young fledging doves with dreams of big love know the sinister game they're playing and in some way, mesh seamlessly with the future of the false rape epidemic. With Pinprick, Daniel Young surprised me, intrigued me, and patronized me. Not just with the shameless sexuality of young Charlotte but with his effective storytelling. Pinprick is easily one of the better and engaging dramas floating around these days and it's a damn shame that it's not more accessible to wandering hands. To better solidify your own opinion, I suggest purchasing it here.

-mAQ