Much like how Nicolas Winding Refn’s 2011 drama Drive saw Ryan Gosling explore the seedy underbelly of Los Angeles after dark, Aaron Katz’s Gemini follows much of the same cinematic aesthetic.
Lola Kirke and Zoë Kravitz star in this crime thriller where, after a mysterious murder is discovered in a starlet’s Hollywood Hills mansion, everyone is a suspect. It may be called the City of Angels, but no one is innocent here.
Jill (Kirke) is so much more than a devoted assistant to celebrity Heather Anderson (Kravitz). She is the breaker of bad news when Heather doesn’t want to deal with confrontation, she is a trusted second opinion when Heather asks her what she thinks about her new relationship with a woman, but above everything else, Jill is Heather’s best friend. After a night of dealing with obsessive fans and intruding paparazzi, Heather confides in Jill that she never feels safe and is always on edge. She then asks Jill if she can borrow her gun just as a precautionary measure. Hesitant but ultimately concerned for her safety, Jill agrees and gives Heather the gun.
When a murder is discovered in Heather’s mansion the next morning, all signs point to Jill. It was her gun, her prints on the casings, and she was the last one to see the victim alive. Or was she? Detective Edward Ahn (John Cho) seems to think Jill isn’t telling him everything she knows, but the truth is, even Jill doesn’t know how deep and twisted this situation actually is.
‘Gemini’ is a subtle reminder that no one can withstand that amount of pressure for too long. They are bound to break. Or kill.
Reminiscent of Olivier Assayas’ Personal Shopper (starring Kristen Stewart) with subtle hints of another Refn classic The Neon Demon (starring Elle Fanning), Gemini is a dark and dreamy little film. It is a bit slow to get going, although the opening long shot of muted purple upside-down palm trees sets the aesthetic for what’s to come, Gemini ultimately suffers from a lack of plausibility and a strong final act. For as realistic and deep-rooted into Los Angeles as we get, like hole in the wall bars and even a cameo from Hotel Normandie in Koreatown, the audience is really made to suspend their disbelief to an unnatural point at the film’s climax. To be blunt, the big reveal turns out to be pretty silly.
All that to say, Gemini is a sensational visual and audible experience. Aaron Katz captures a pulsating and stylized version of Los Angeles that is not typically seen in feature films. Lola Kirke and Zoë Kravitz are both engaging to watch on screen, and their chemistry as friends is undeniable. Composer Keegan DeWitt is quickly becoming a Cinemacy favorite, having scored indie gems like Newness and The Long Dumb Road. He adopts a moody and synthetic tone for Gemini (perhaps taking inspiration from Kavinsky and Lovefoxxx’s Nightcall) that, not surprisingly, is a perfect companion to the film.
No matter one’s profession, social media following, or number of friends, one thing is universal– we all need protection, stability, and a sense of safety in order to get through life. Getting a glimpse at the chaos of celebrity life and how normalized the invasion of privacy has become, Gemini is a subtle reminder that no one can withstand that amount of pressure for too long. They are bound to break. Or kill.
