When I saw an
image of James Franco as a ‘gangsta’ with cornrows and a set of grills, along with an ensemble of pretty girls,
noted for Disney –esque roles, I was pretty excited to see Harmony Korine’s Springbreakers (2012).
Narrative
wise, it’s about four college girls Selena Gomez (Faith), Vanessa Hudgens (Candy),
Ashley Benson (Brit), and Rachel Korine (Cotty) planning their way get to spring
break. With unsuccessful attempts in raising enough cash, Candy and Brit rob a
restaurant wearing balaclavas, masculine voices, and realistic looking squirt guns
and get the group to spring break. Adhering to appropriate spring break personas,
the group indulge in sexual freedom and consumption. However, the narrative
changes to a darker context leaving its MTV aesthetics and moves towards that
of the Grand Theft Auto video game
series. The girls are arrested and we meet rapper Alien (James Franco) who mysteriously
pays for their bail, involving himself within the groups circle. Alien’s gang
fuelled lifestyle scares Faith who goes back home, subsequently so does Cotty.
However, Candy and Brit have a sexual relationship with Alien and ulterior
motifs of their own.
Spring breakers is full on in a sense. Benoit
Debie’s cinematography embraces projectile vomit, tits, booty, and crouch
shots, I felt like I was watching Girls
Gone Wild. But then there’s another side, their friendship. I found an
ironically touching moment in Korine use of Britney Spears Everytime and made me draw a familiar connection to Sophia
Coppola’s Somewhere (2010)
juxtaposing postart Gwen Stefani’s Cool against
her own independent trademark. Similarly, these songs enhance the heartfelt
moment shared between a father and daughter, and in this case, friends. The girls
and Ailen all sing along to Spears (at this stage the trio) wearing pink
unicorn baklavas, cutaway bathers and guns all huddled around Aliens’ grand
piano.
Playing true
to Grand Theft Auto’s Vice City aesthetics with blinding 80’s
neon filters and a gang war shoot, at no time does Spring Breakers disappoint but builds into something stronger when Candy
and Brit’s embark on their final mission.
