“Erupcja” Puts Charli XCX in a Raw, New Light
Some friendships are all-consuming in a frightening way. They’re not necessarily co-dependent, but there will be people you meet who give you tunnel vision of sorts. Whose aura is so intoxicating that you’re willing to shirk all your real-world responsibilities for a chance to exist in their orbit. Pete Ohs’ Erupcja captures the whirlwind feeling of these types of relationships and the destruction they bring to the lives of everyone who touches the two in the eye of the storm. Led by an against-type performance by Charli XCX, Erupcja is a quietly all-consuming portrayal of the people who bring out the most in us. Not necessarily the best or the worst, but certainly the biggest emotions.
Bethany (Charli XCX) and Rob (Will Madden) have been dating for quite a long time. Long enough that Rob believes it’s a respectable time for him to pop the question, so he plans a romantic getaway. His initial idea of Paris was nixed by Bethany, who says Paris is too obviously romantic. She prefers Warsaw, where she says the romance is more understated. It becomes clear that Bethany doesn’t want to go to Warsaw for its romantic atmosphere, but because Nel (Lena Góra) lives here. The two met over a decade ago and were magnetized to each other, feeling a pull that was impossible to ignore. When the two reunite, it’s as though no time has passed, but a decade of real life has created a chasm between them that they don’t want to address.
courtesy of Erupcja
Charlie XCX entered the general public’s consciousness with brat Summer a few years ago. Named for her critically and culturally loved album, brat Summer was about partying, drugs, and a touch of chaos. It’s why her character in Erupcja feels so against type. Sure, Bethany and Nel go out partying from dusk to dawn, but Bethany feels so quiet, so reserved. Even when she’s at an underground rave, there are a million things bubbling below the surface of Charli XCX’s performance. Bethany may be dancing the night away, but she’s also considering the question she knows and fears is coming from Rob. She’s remembering the adolescent freedom that Nel symbolizes and the underlying queerness of their relationship. All this simmers underneath Charli XCX’s performance, and the end result is something quite quietly profound.
courtesy of Erupcja
Erupcja is named for the Polish word for “eruption” and refers to the dynamic between Nel and Bethany. They feel the universe is intrinsically tied to their connection, because every time they find themselves in the same place at the same time, a volcano erupts somewhere in the world. They see this as a great cosmic connection and a reflection of how alive they are with one another. When Nel asks Bethany how she feels about her relationship with Rob, Bethany admits that she feels safe and secure, but also says, “With him, the earth doesn’t shake.” That moment perfectly distills the larger-than-themselves sense of importance Nel and Bethany share. In actuality, volcanoes are erupting more than many of us realize, but it’s proof that humans can construct meaning out of anything. One of humanity’s greatest skills, for better or for worse, is our ability to find patterns to justify our actions. The problem is that we’re far more willing to create purpose and justification when there isn’t any, just to support our reckless actions.
Written by Ohs, Charli XCX, Góra, and Jeremy O. Harris, Erupcja captures a fleeting weekend in the life of a person who doesn’t want to admit she’s at a crossroads and unhappy with her life. The film is shot in the style of a Polish take on the French New Wave, which adds a sense of shaggy realism to the project. The editing by Ohs is also a standout, with strange little pieces of information peppered throughout to add context to the moment the movie finds itself in. Couple that with a narrator (Jacek Zubiel), and Erupcja has a dreamy quality that further speaks to the “sapphic synchronicity” Bethany and Nel have found themselves in. Erupcja’s slight runtime of 71 minutes will likely cause some people to say it’s missing a sense of an ending, but anyone who’s had one of these bright-burning, fleeting relationships knows that there is no formal ending. No sense of closure or completion, just the dissolution of a flurried friendship. Erupcja is an encapsulation of the magic, pain, and lingering loss of a person who has changed.
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