The New Mutants (2020)

Finally making its way to screens in the UK as the country has moved out from its first nationwide lockdown, The New Mutants’ long and turbulent journey has made its stop at the final destination... but not without ruffling a few feathers.

Synopsised as “Five young Mutants, just discovering their abilities while held in a secret facility - against their will - fight to escape past sins and save themselves.” A summary that gives little away, I would note for those that for those who have this on their watchlist whether it be with a sense of immediacy or keeping an eye on when it’s available via Streaming/VOD/Physical, this is a title that’s both standalone from the original source material as well as standalone to the rest of the Fox X-Men universe that’s spanned most of the past two decades. Having conducted some research into that whole affair, all I can muster up is that Disney bought out Fox in exchange for a wad of cash and an air of uncertainty whilst Fox had an internal power change, further complicating the matter at hand and muddled the whole process from an infant script to the finished product. In the run up to the release, there seemed to be an outpouring of almost slander, implying that the film is fundamentally broken and in need of a rewrite despite it being revised a number of times. So with my expectations set at an all time low for anything I’ve seen at the cinema in recent times, I was left impressed by what was not only a fundamentally sound film, but a unique spin on the Whole X-Men universe. With that in mind, I’m going to fall on the side more positive than what seems to be the consensus as I break down the film and its wider context.

As has now become common practice with a majority of my works, I’ll also provide a number of key and varied extra reading for you to indulge in - should that be to your fancy, from reviews to timelines etc. They’ll add something to the discussion and ultimately it’s always good to have a rounded understanding on a film. So best to begin with facts, this is ultimately a victim of corporate workings. With Kinberg apparently a fan of the original script, the reshuffling of Fox’s establishment demanded a rewrite all together and perhaps for the best. Though all parties have been tight lipped in regards to what was the first vision, which was rumoured to involve Storm, what we eventually ended up with, as described by Co-Writer/Director, Josh Boone via Paul Bradshaw for Total Film: “There’s no hard feelings because the movie we’re releasing is definitely the director’s cut”. In the process following a changeover, the director seems to have made peace with the pressure and sees some kind of beauty in this mutated, morphed version that was a psychological horror opposed to a typical superhero film and that swerve down a different avenue, was actually as far as I’m concerned a turn for the better as I’ll discuss.

So why does the film/horror work? Honest answer - character. Now it’s not a Scorsese level character piece, I’ll be fully honest, but for what it is, it works. Typically you’d expect a full scale dive into an individual but here it gives just enough background to the point where it stands in for exposition (largely) and served the characters by adding extra detail to them as well as deconstructing the notion of modern horror cinema with the two functions of the horror working in a symbiotic sense that really provided some quite tense, white-knuckle moments in the cinema. Now the only two who really get a full portrait painted on them is Rahne Sinclair (Maisie Williams) & Illyana Rasputin (Anya Taylor-Joy), their character histories are given the most runtime when it comes to an individual case. Sinclair’s history is rooted in abuse from her local church and its officials from her home-town in Scotland. Rasputin on the other hand boasts of slaying eighteen men whilst equally living in fear of these ‘Smiley Men’ voiced by (and presumably modelled somewhat on) Marilyn Manson. So first off, Sinclair - her backstory is linked heavily to her blossoming relationship with Danielle (Blu Hunt) and as such, gets a bit more emotional weight and impact given there’s an attached sense of meaning thats equally told in a visual manner. From the glances at her branded ‘W’, to the brief Wolf sprint through the woods it her nightmare manifestation that reunited her with her abuser, the horror has actually got a purpose. I think it best to perhaps cover the deconstruction of modern horror - a scene in a confession box as well as the first look at the Smiley Men were highlights. Rahne, trapped inside a confession box, is fearing a demon and it never materialises. Like the character, you‘re stuck wondering whether your own suspicions will be confirmed thanks to a possible jump scare, baiting that reaction but not cheapening itself to that standard. Elsewhere though, Rasputin’s ever present spectre - the Smiley Men evoke this sense of Uncanny Valley. While these tall, featureless men force Illyana (Magik) into her self imposed happy place of Limbo. Once more, it’s all tied to the character/characters at the heart of the film. While ultimately they move past these demons and overcome the obstacle in a metaphorical sense, its a clever way of making an arc and building character. The rest of the cast don’t get much more of that treatment, or at least depth - Blu Hunt’s character plays more of an audience viewfinder and the Boys of the cast are less of a main focus as their inciting events don’t have as much depth in comparison to the others.

Now however is a good time to talk about the comedy that populated the film. It’s far from laugh a minute, believe me and to be honest it is a bit far from my usual tastes but it is what the best of the X-Men has to offer. The appeal of these team up films is that exactly - the team dynamic. Cannonball (Heaton) & Sunspot (Zaga) have a good friendship and connection with the latter taking Cannonball under his wing, Dani and Rahne have their blossoming relationship as well as their co-rebellion in spite of Dr. Reyes (Alice Braga). Jason Gorber mentions in his SlashFilm review how it evokes many conventions and structures of the teen film (a point for themes later down the line) and by doing so, it has its moments of ‘Down Time’ if you will. States of bliss where the characters can just exist and as such there are a few montage sequences of just bonding, there’s a musically scored sequence of joy and then the Polygraph sequence spring to mind to demonstrate the allowances the film makes to soften its characters. And in this section, it’s best to acknowledge Blu Hunt’s role in the film, she’s the audience viewfinder and as proxy of that, she doesn’t quite get the introduction shared by her peers, her src as a whole is more staggered and when she progresses it’s to marry the film to the audience and create that sense of entertainment. Serving that function, my point’s core is that there is a constantly high level of entertaining interactions and I fully believe that type of dialogue is what made First Class so well received, a technically sound film with elements of Fan Service which applies here too. Though it’s release has been hampered by a current, ongoing pandemic, The New Mutants has capacity to grow into a cult classic.

I like the array of performances on show. Looking at them in isolation, the core cast of young mutants are led by Anya Taylor-Joy and Maisie Williams who are hands down ‘Most Experienced’ or are at least, vying for that title. It’s not too far of a stretch to suggest this is Williams’ largest film in terms of both role and stature, especially outside of Game of Thrones. Transferring her star powers into what is a bit of a minor role, she’s perhaps most likeable outside of Danielle Moonstone. She sells the story well and is a good link in connecting all the dots of the piece even if that Scottish accent is a little floppy at times. Taylor-Joy bought a certain life to her role of Magik and is adept at portraying nuance as shown in 2019 with season five of Peaky Blinders. With those being the real, major standouts, there’s a special mention to Blu Hunt who did a solid job which is her debut as a lead in a feature film. Zaga, Braga and Heaton all impressed in their own ways and were serviceable in their performances making for a believable dynamic. Mixed from serviceable to surprisingly good, the cast make a quite entertaining outing.

Thematically, I’ll come back to a point from earlier, the elements of a teen film and it’s not so subtle puberty allegory really adds a different spin to the affair. While identity has always been a key theme in the X-Men films, it usually boils down to little more than the two arguments of integration vs separatism, a cliche that never rears itself in Boone’s film. Generally it’s more of a piece on identity as a whole and many aspects of trauma, a more personal taking rather than a general ideological battle. Without giving spoilers for this film, coping with identity has always been a running theme in the X-Men franchise, from Rogue in the original trilogy and elements of that in First Class, despite it being done before in some sense it was still a novel take. Generally it shouldn’t have been surprising, Boone’s most known work is a teenage drama and generally speaking, he’s always been able to appeal to the masses and I can see The New Mutants doing the same, even if it is just regarded as a bit of a popcorn flick. With a bit of a touching depth to the title, one could see it becoming a decent double bill alongside Chronicle (2012) for a couple of films that depict the infancy of a Superhero and offer a different perspective than the mainstream affairs the MCU & DC offer.

It’s not perfect though, I must state and I’ll now move onto the issues I found with the title. I’ll link a few at the end for you to get a better perspective but the persistent issue was the visuals. A film’s cinematography can be classified as one of three: Good (often hard to recognise unless it has a few standout sequences), Bad (reeks of amateurish quality, perhaps jarring/immersion breaking) or a mixed bag which falls between the two and is perhaps most frustrating, and that sadly applies to The New Mutants. The characters are exempt from this criticism, in all aspects from costumes to VFX and anything in the middle, there’s little wrong with the style of the visuals it’s the manner in which they’re captured. The setting is unimaginative, sterile and it really reeks of the closure to Glass (2019) which was in itself incredibly bland. Worst of all in regards to the setting though, is a complete lack of geography, there’s a number of features: Basketball Courts, Church etc. They‘re used to spice up what’s on camera but have no link and therefore make it feel that, at times its just a gathering of scenes over a narrative with a throughline. Whilst on the average it was pretty unremarkable in a camerawork sense, points felt a little video gamey if you will, namely the closing sequence. Not to disrespect that medium which has plenty to offer, but its finale didn’t translate all that well in a filmic manner.

Unsurprisingly though, the biggest issue comes with identity, I suspect Studio interference is at fault for this as there appears to be something missing. From stories of reshoots being demanded and this whole turbulent production, there still rang true moments that were vacant and noticeably so, at times it really struggles to be tonally consistent or flow all that smoothly as a narrative is concerned. It wasn’t detrimental but is something that should be taken into account when you plan on watching it.

Despite it’s troubled trip to the consumption and multiple slammings at a number of opportunities, The New Mutants is a respectable addition to the Fox X-Men Universe and was a decent enough ‘bow out’ from that studios production. Boone’s attempt is novel and has some appealing, near cultish charm that sets itself firmly in the bracket of better X-Men films alongside: Logan, The Deadpool Franchise & First Class. Whether you feel safe enough to catch it at cinemas or feast your eyes upon it when it’s later released on home media in some fashion, it’s a film that bested my expectations and is worthy of a recommendation.

Find below some further pieces on the film/New Mutants generally;

New Mutants - X Plained, A Breakdown of the Comics Group and their Origin https://youtu.be/1DaHZNfVpmg

Vulture, A Diary of the Film’s Way to Screen https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.vulture.com/amp/2020/08/what-happened-to-the-new-mutants.html

The New Mutants (2020) - Review

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