When I admire a film as much as I do writer/director Harmony Korine’s 2013 effort, Spring Breakers, I feel an obligation to find merit in the rest of its creator’s filmography, regardless of whether or not it deserves it. For this reason, I really tried to like one of Korine’s latest efforts, Aggro Dr1ft, the “story” (if you can call it that) of which centers on the self-proclaimed “world’s greatest assassin” (Travis Scott) as he takes on his next, lethally dangerous target. Unfortunately, my efforts were not rewarded. Though I admire the film for its artistic courage, I still have to criticize it quite heavily for failing to provide a fully engaging or coherent experience to its audience.
The first feature-length movie shot entirely on infrared film, Aggro Dr1ft’s beautiful Florida locations are thoroughly bathed in and vividly accentuated by the format’s deeply set and endlessly hypnotic color scheme of orange, red, blue, green, and magenta. The movie is, simply put, an endless marvel to witness. The gimmick eventually grows old, however, coinciding with the realization that the movie simply doesn’t have much to offer or communicate outside of its off-kilter and bravely unique aesthetics.
As we experience the characters through endless (and often senseless) internal monologues/voice-overs that are accompanied by AraabMuzik’s trance-like musical score, it becomes progressively apparent that Korine’s intent with his film is for mood and atmosphere to take precedence over characterization and plot. There’s no one to care about or identify with in the film, and there’s seemingly no point being made with the characters’ hollowness or with the aimlessness of the story in general. Sure, the lead character obviously loves his stick-figure family and, sure, his wife endlessly writhes around like a cat in heat on their bed while repeating “I’m so lonely” when he’s away, but it’s not enough to keep the audience emotionally involved for the majority of the film’s eighty-minute duration.
The misguided misogyny found within the lifestyle of some of the characters is unabashedly and thoughtlessly presented throughout the film. The antagonist/primary target really likes to thrust his pelvis in the air and repeatedly call the dancing women who constantly envelop him “bitches.” While I have no issue with seeing such bestial and primitive behavior if there’s a point being made, Aggro Dr1ft seems to be basking in the glow of naughtiness and decadence for nothing more than the pure sake of it.
As evidenced by his best work (Mister Lonely, Spring Breakers, The Beach Bum) Korine’s experimental nature can be downright thrilling to witness if it’s anchored by some form of commercial/conventional structure. Without even the most subtle of restraints, he’s simply too out of control and tethered to his own wavelength for his films to be accessible or relatable to more than a very select and small audience. Like most of the great filmmakers, Korine’s genius needs boundaries or it tends to topple under the weight of its own audacity.
Aggro Dr1ft had the potential to be a spectacularly vivid fever dream—a surreal action film with impressively unprecedented artistic goals. Instead, it misfires quite noticeably and comes across as a hopelessly pretentious and sluggishly paced exercise in style that just doesn’t know what it is trying to say or accomplish. Unique brilliance such as Korine’s needs to be handled with care and executed with guidance because, when it’s not, it has the potential to produce an almost entirely wasted effort like this one.
GRADE: C-
