In Fabric, directed by Englishman Peter Strickland, is a critically acclaimed film that has received many accolades at festivals. The director, whom we know from other projects such as The Duke of Burgundy and Berberian Sound Studio, has once again managed to excellently manipulate light, image and sound to create unusual experiences on the big screen.
The main protagonist is Marianne Jean-Baptiste (A Murder of Crows), a woman recently separated from her husband who feels a bit lonely and so decides to visit a department store in London to find something that will bring color to her life and transform it. A peculiar saleswoman played by Sidse Babett Knudsen (protagonist of The Duke of Burgundy who achieved international recognition with the Borgen series) will obsessively want to sell an elegant red dress to her clients. But, what is special about it? The dress has its own personality and over time it unleashes an evil, unstoppable curse that threatens anyone who stands in its way. Of course, the first victim will be the one who has it in their closet.
"A beautiful and original movie about a killer dress" as Los Angeles Time newspaper named it. Variety magazine also says: "Peter Strickland fashions slyly hilarious Italian horror homage about a demonic frock and the even more sinister forces that compel us to shop." In relation to the latter, it is worth clarifying that even though the film does not aim to condemn the capitalist system, in some way it lends itself to reflection since it slides that we can lift our spirits and become the person we want to be at a store. This is a worth watching film to get scared and draw our own conclusions.
