Art Of Pretending

dune- terrifyingly beautiful

I just left the cinema… watched dune again… no shocker. there’s something really special about that movie. the score, the cast, the story, the director (impeccable btw) that makes you want to rewatch it for a third time- which I did, don’t judge me.

quick authors note: I have now seen this movie seven times… *stares into the void* I highly doubt that I will not try and watch it in the cinema before it leaves forever- people it’s just too good. okay let me continue.

I highly recommend seeing this spectacle with your own eyes- in the cinema may I add since you need to experience hans zimmer’s score, you need to experience the movie theatre shaking whilst it plays and you maybe also just want to see two hours of timothée chalamet- I don’t know. the film even made me pick up the book- although lots of people said it’s hard to understand, but so far so good- and I am definitely hooked.

i finished the first part of the first book and my friends can vouch for me when I say this story is insane, all these plot points and twists make me want to scream at the pages- multiple times. it’s definitely a special book series, like nothing I have ever read before.

now listen I hadn’t read the book before going to the cinema… some people will see this as the worst thing to possibly think of- but I don’t, you’re safe with me besties. I went in with no expectations- I only knew I would see familiar faces such as rebecca ferguson (the greatest showman), oscar isaac (star wars), jason momoa (game of thrones), josh brolin (thanos himself, but please say you also remember the goonies), zendaya (euphoria, and our disney channel bae) AND my personal fave and comfort person timothée chalamet (ladybird, and even already nominated for an academy award). I had seen a trailer but that was months before so I didn’t know what I would get myself into.

dune is definitely a movie you have to be focused on, if you don’t focus you won’t actually understand what the hell is going on. see that is why you should also just watch it in a movie theatre- bigger screen, silence, and no phone distracting you…

I really wanted to write about a specific scene in this movie since it was beautiful but terrifying at that as well. it might be my favourite one and just hearing denis villeneuve speak about it in detail- and going into everything connected to it made me remember how much I adore filmmaking. there might be some spoilers so I am warning you to read about me gushing over dune after you have watched it (do it, now.)

hey it is me again I genuinely recommend reading this blog post with the soundtrack playing in the background it immerses you more into the story I am talking about and you also just feel WAY cooler reading it. hans zimmer is a genius and amazing at what he does I urge you to listen to the soundtrack.

the incredible multifaceted plot:

okay okay okay before I get into the scene I think it’s best I try and actually summarise dune. it’s kind of complicated so bear with me. I genuinely wish I could just say it’s a (really dark) coming of age story about a young boy having to grow up in a matter of days… oh wait that’s exactly what it is- just really sci-fi. wow nailed that for sure. it’s definitely not a john hughes movie but our protagonist paul atreides is going through an intense character development. he’s a 15 year old but he’s thrown into the real world, and has to become the man of the family and eventually also duke of house atreides. there’s a lottt going on- we are in the far future, think of future and then go even further from the present… that far. we have an emperor who’s running a really corrupt, animalistic, dark, terrifying, brutal (I think we get it now- he isn’t running a great world is he?) empire. kind of still reminds me of now but I’ll leave my jokes for another time. nowadays if you think of something really precious I am guessing we are all thinking of gold etc. (and kittens… because… yes imagine a world where kittens would be the most precious thing one could possess *sigh*) but here the most precious thing one could possess is spice… wow we are back in the 16th century yooo. everything runs on a substance called spice… still makes me think they’re starting wars for paprika but that might just be me… I don’t know. it’s harvested on the desert planet called arrakis… but the cool people also say dune- so true. even though there’s actually people living on the planet the emperor picks a house to rule over dune. house atreides now has that privilege (spoiler it’s not a privilege, it’s actually a death sentence, the book makes sure you know that from the first page on, thank you frank). they were chosen to harvest the spice and oversee the whole production because in that new world nothing and I genuinely mean it NOTHING works without paprika- I mean spice dammit. how do I say this without sounding mean… they sense a trap but went anyway??? and left their beautiful home planet called caladan (which reminded me an awful lot of ireland <3). what genuinely made me mad is that in the book paul already knows before even setting foot on the death planet (yes I am calling it that) that he was going to lose his father- the one person he wanted to spend more time with (I’ll stop if not we will need tissues). basically shit goes down on arrakis… is that all I should tell you- ohhh boy has dreams of zendaya- so relatable, kidding he has dreams about a girl PLAYED by zendaya, but let me just have that. as you can tell there’s a lot of plot parts, a lot is happening and this would genuinely take 10000 years (high five to you if you got that reference) if I tried explaining dune as a whole. just know you’ll see a badass woman, two hours of timmy chalamet’s face, aqua man, and most importantly- it genuinely wouldn’t work without it- sand. lots of sand.

it is time to get into the scene- the one scene that blew me away, it was so simple… but effective (as harry styles would say).

the gom jabbar scene literally swept me off my feet- who is she? mary poppins? to be quite frank it actually swept me off my seat… I was so entranced of what was happening I was one blink away from falling on my face most probably. the scenery, the lighting, the shots, the actors- just this scene should be the reason one decides to take a trip to the cinema. it’s beautifully made… not beautiful in a sense that it is a happy scene but rather terrifyingly beautiful. that exists and I think denis is most probably a pro at creating these kinds of scenes. it feels like cinema, and watching this specific scene on the big imax screen was an incredible experience.

dune is cinematically speaking one of the best films I’ve been able to see. you genuinely feel a real immersion- with one plus though you don’t end up with sand everywhere… (I had to, I’m sorry)

here we have the two main characters in the scene. first of we have the iconic actress charlotte rampling- she plays the reverend mother. who the hell is the reverend mother you may ask? well I shall answer that. that wonderfully terrifying woman up there is the leader of the bene gesserit. it’s an organisation made up of only women- they’re working in the shadows securing its members a bright future- no matter the cost. their agenda is to bring forth the chosen one- the kwisatz haderach, they do this by literally BREEDING and interfering with politics etc. (mental I KNOW). they literally want to be the breeder of a messiah like being, aka maybe paul. sis doesn’t really like paul though simply because she doesn’t believe in a male chosen one, she has her doubts with him and isn’t quite sure if this young boy will be capable to fulfil his destiny (does no one believe in him? *cries*). not gonna lie to you there was something deeply comedic about the fact she doesn’t believe in a male chosen one… usually it is women people don’t believe in.

now we come to our main character, the one and only timothée chalamet- sorry I mean paul atreides… (pretty sure right now timmy might even be the main character in my life but let’s not dwell on that) timmy plays paul, the maybe messiah and the protagonist of this whole dark soon to be franchise. the boy must try and fulfil his destiny, has to become a man in a matter of days, nearly dies in the desert- multiple times, develops trust issues and most probably will need therapy for the rest of his life- wow that’s… inch resting. he is son of duke leto (isaac) who is the head of house atreides, a loving father but also how would I put it… a pragmatic leader, and lady jessica (ferguson), a very mysterious woman who genuinely scares me- but in a cool badass way. she’s really important in the whole story since she and paul will have to face certain challenges together. as an… alumni? of the bene gesserit school she had been specially trained. she can do numerous cool things but important for us is the usage of the “voice”. that woman could literally tell me to jump off a building into a pool or whatever and I’d do it- what a cool power… she will be the person paul will have to count on numerous times.

what I found incredibly interesting was the fact you feel some kind of oppression- “for once” it’s the man or rather a boy being oppressed, being stripped of his agency and completely entranced by a woman that at first doesn’t even seem that threatening. I would have never thought to see this since it’s based on a book published in 1965, I think we all know the power relations between men and women back then so I don’t need to make a whole power point about it. it is really something else seeing all these incredibly powerful female characters in the movie it is not often one sees that in the sci-fi genre. though paul manages to gain back his agency the film genuinely showcases brilliant strong women (ex. lady jessica) who emphasise the fact that paul has links to badass power women. denis put it as paul being possessed and surrounded by strong female power.

why does this scene take place?

the gom jabbar is an iconic scene: our hero of the story goes through a detrimental test, he is being tested on whether or not he can overcome his animal impulses. denis uses a dark ass library as the place where it all takes place in order to underline the fact that a) this movie should showcase elements often seen in period dramas (he makes it make sense) and b) to emphasise that this future works without AI, computers etc. were banned and everything reminds you of some ancient culture. he deliberately makes us go back in time even though the story is set in the furthest future you could think of. this scene is so dark I am surprised paul didn’t actually fall flat on his face, because I am pretty sure I would fallen approximately seventeen times whilst speaking to the reverend mother. paul doesn’t really understand why his mother had woken him up so early, he really didn’t think he had to fight for his life that day. lady jessica isn’t allowed in the room so she leaves him puzzled, but before leaving tells him to do everything the reverend mother tells him to do. we see her wanting to hug him since it could potentially be the last time she sees her child (alive), she stops herself in order to not lose her standing in front of the old lady. she is supposed to be in control of her emotions at all times so experiencing any kind of panic in front of her could end with paul panicking even more and the old lady looking down upon her. she can’t allow herself to show physical love towards her own son. there is huge tension between her being a bene gesserit sister, because she lives after the purpose of finding the chosen one and her being a normal mother and even protecting paul FROM his destiny. once she leaves the room it felt like the room got even colder and darker in order to prepare us for what is to come. the reverend mother, who by the way hasn’t got a single ounce of patience, uses the voice on paul after he calls her out for dismissing his mother in her own home. I am not quite sure but I think the only person until now who could have potentially used the voice on our hero is his own mother so it feels even more nervewrecking since this stranger is letting him fall into this kind of micro coma. her shouting for him to cross the room even made me want to obey her and run to the front of the movie theatre, it makes not even paul feel disorientated but also destabilises the viewer themselves- thanks denis. paul obeys her: after all he is just a child, a child born by royalty taught to obey his elders. the voice controls a human’s will in a matter of seconds, the bene gesserit found a way of going into a person’s subconscious. the viewer and paul experience some sort of narcoleptic sensation, even worse when the camera work underlines the power of the voice… everything goes dark and then you find yourself in front of this old lady. our boy seems flustered but wants to show dominance, how dare this stranger use the voice on him but the woman doesn’t react, she keeps quiet. she calls on him to put his right hand in the box- later we get a detailed hand shot of paul dipping it in water on caladan and sifting sand through it on arrakis, seems as if he will never forget what will happen to his hand. I don’t know why I am telling you this but it is an interesting detail not many would pay attention to maybe. after she brings forth the box paul doesn’t move he much rather gives her the death stare, acting tougher than he might feel. but she makes clear he has to obey her.

shaking his head he puts his hand in the box and the reverend mother jumps on him like a snake, the needle is placed to his neck and she makes clear that if he moves or flinches he will die. “I hold at your neck the gom jabbar, poison needle, instant death. the test is simple remove your hand from the box and you die.” I would have most definitely passed the fuck out at this point but paul seemingly couldn’t care less, maybe it’s because he just woke up but pal… that woman wants to kill you. the reverend mother is dressed in all black, reminds you of a chess figure towering over our hero, marking her superiority, power and somewhat wisdom. her costume is completed with a veil making it harder to look into her face, see her facial expressions and just makes her even more mysterious and terrifying than before. in a way the veil protects her from people having access to her soul. we get this sense of an unspoken religion, made me feel like I needed to tell her all my secrets- it’s the stare guys okay. paul kneeling in front of her makes it possible to stare her right in the eyes… the eyes being the only thing able to express emotions.

paul AND the viewer are interested in what is actually in the box… he asks her and she just says “pain” in a low but threatening voice. he seems less calm and collected and even more obedient since she makes him feel like an animal caught in a trap. the test is to see if paul is a human or an animal since an animal would gnaw off its own leg to escape, what will he do? we ask ourselves if he dies or if he survives.

the gom jabbar is a weapon that causes instantaneous death, a needle is dipped in poison and used by the bene gesserit and the great houses to eliminate their rivals. one prick with the needle of pain and it is over. the needle is held at paul’s head so he doesn’t think about moving even an inch. this is only part of the test what will make your skin crawl is what happens next, paul is ordered to put his hand in a somewhat ancient looking box that is opened to one side. it is as if the “pain box”- let’s just call it that- was designed for paul, his hand fits perfectly (gave me claustrophobia)- most probably to not make you see what is happening in it. the reverend mother holds the needle with a somewhat elegance underlying the female superiority in the scene.

it is absolutely phenomenal how simple denis kept this scene since the power of it lies on the actors and our own imagination. the box doesn’t seem to be of any sort of danger to paul, after all it is also “just” a woman commanding him to put his hand in- she should be respected- but it is still a woman, she couldn’t let him experience that much pain could she?

the reverend mother makes clear that calling for help is absolutely hopeless and we get a new long shot showing his mother guarding the room, she will be in charge of not letting anyone disturb their “meeting”, if jessica wants to do this is another question.

whilst our protagonist is battling for his life, going through the most unimaginable pain his mother is experiencing some sort of panic attack in front of the library. she is there to guard the door in case someone were to interfere with the test, she will guard it with her life but that totally obliterates the fact she could help someone from saving her son. it is in some way unimaginable that she lets someone torture her fifteen year old child but it indeed makes more sense when you actually know that she also had to do the test. she has experienced it and the gom jabbar test feeds as a somewhat religious tradition. that woman literally let her son, her child walk into some kind of trap. she knows that test, she endured the same pain he did, she fully well knows what could happen if her son removed his hand from the box. she is experiencing panic since her son could quite literally die. looking at lady jessica you have a very ambivalent character. on the one hand you have a mother wanting to protect her son and on the other hand we have a woman who is willing to do anything to find the chosen one (she really wants to think her son is the one). she and the bene gesserit would do anything to bring forth the kwisatz haderach and she disregards that she could hurt her own child or even kill him in the process. so her crying and experiencing panic is because she is currently overthinking whether or not she is a good mother.

jessica can hear her own song grunting in pain and screaming. whilst trying to battle her own pain and anxiety she starts citing the litany of fear, this litany is used by the bene gesserit and I quote “highly educated people” to slower your heartbeat and to calm your mind, you should let the fear pass through you and even use it as a motor for your actions. once the fear is gone the only one remaining- is you.

“I must not fear. fear is the mind-killer. fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. and when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. where the fear has gone there will be nothing. only I will remain.”

frank herbert- dune

it’s as if something changes in not only the mother but also paul since we see him citing the litany to himself as well, could even be a telepathic connection since the bene gesserit ladies can do A LOT. the music reaches its climax and whilst both of them recite the litany we see visions paul is having about the continuation of the plot. it’s brutal scenes, death, war and total obliteration. it seems as if paul used the fear to get back his agency. at the beginning of the test you have him looking down but then he looks up at the threat in front of him marking his territory. whilst the test is being held we hear the most harrowing sounds in order to immerse ourselves in the scene. it gives me the impression that I myself can feel sand trying to rip apart my hand or a flame slowly and brutally burning my fingers.

we have a very important key moment here: herbert and denis let him take over the scene. the adolescent is put under so much pain it feels as if something is brought up from his subconscious, something had hidden there and it’s now coming to the forefront. just as he was taught he uses the fear to bring back his agency, even whilst in total pain. the reverend mother feels power coming from him and shouts “enough”, it doesn’t feel like she is the one in charge anymore, she rather yells enough at him since he was able to completely dominate her test. I am sure the reverend mother would rather kill paul since now she fears he really could be the one, you can see it in her eyes. his blood shot eyes tell you everything you need to know: he had been through hell and back. we were able to see a duel between them, shifting from the reverend mother to our protagonist.

he removes the hand from the box slowly maybe being scared of what his hand could look like now, but seemingly nothing has happened. the visions he had experienced were as close to our dreams or rather nightmares as they can get. there was no sign of violence, it was all in his head. in the book it is his left hand that gets bloody since he presses it together so hard his nails dig into his skin. after acknowledging the fact that his hand was fine he jumps up and walks back a few steps to get as far away as possible from this woman as he can. he feels betrayed but not only by her but by his own mother as well.

you can really see that paul doesn’t understand what is happening, after all he is just a child, a child having had to fight for his own life ten seconds ago. the boy has more than one birth right he could be a grave danger to anyone to be quite frank- even himself. him and the viewer do not have the key to understand everything, it is as if not only our young hero went through with the test but us as well, we go on this journey with him and we know just as little as him.

jessica completely out of her mind and not fully being able to control herself is now allowed back in the room. she enters the room looking down at the floor after all she could either see her son standing there, having aced the test or she could enter a scene where her son was killed because he couldn’t handle his impulses. we get an establishing shot, from her point of view, she can breathe since her son is standing right where she left him. the woman draws a big breath now being able to let go of part of the anxiety.

paul seems hurt, and cannot even look her in the eyes since he now feels like he was just part of the plan. he questions his mother’s intentions and this causes most of the tension between them in the continuation of the movie. he got back his agency and overpowered the old woman for a brief instance but now the power is given back to her since paul senses there might be a lot on the line, he obeys her again. she can’t help but be sceptical towards him being the one- the kwisatz haderach. there’s something about this well behaved young man- and it’s not because timmy chalamet plays him. he is addressed to tell her about the dreams he has been having and leaves him puzzled standing in the library. this scene got something of a chess game, the reverend mother hovering over the boy, showing us the power dynamic. all in all it is paul who wins the game though.

I am pretty sure it’s obvious that I think timothée is an outstanding actor, for me he marks a new era of hollywood, someone worthy of being remembered. I mean this man had an academy award nomination at twenty one… he is special. what really made me speechless is the fact he doesn’t even have to talk to carry a scene. he lets his emotions take over his body in a weird artistic way, pretty sure that man has never been afraid to feel and show how he feels and exactly this transcends to his characters, to the screen and to the viewer. I remember hearing denis villeneuve say that timothée’s eyes tell a story of a thousand lives- very poetic- but he is right. I am in awe of him and his craft, the way you don’t even see timmy but a troubled young man afraid of his destiny. you SEE paul atreides come to life. him struggling with the pain combined with us seeing his visions AND also what the future will hold is an extraordinary combination. only his eyes and eyebrows alone show you everything you need to know… the aggression he displays at the end is truly terrifying and really shocks you since he plays a child or rather young adolescent but it is as if his journey just started. that boy turned into a young man and that young man now has to struggle through life- lol relatable am I right. the reverend mother tries to remain calm but something happens with her, it feels as if her eyes see the terror unfold as well and she finally realises this isn’t just some boy in front of her but maybe the kwisatz haderach. after the test paul or rather timmy quickly composes himself and breathes heavily as if he just took part in a physical fight.

this is a mental scene as denis puts it, it relies solely on the actors since we don’t get any visual help besides the visions paul is sharing with us. denis makes us a part of the scene, in a way he makes us go through with the test ourselves. we might be battling an inner war with paul. making the viewer create their own mental picture of a threat in their own head is one of the smartest things he could do. instead of us being shown what happens to his hand etc. we think of our own pain consuming our own hand. it makes the scene AND the pain so much worse since we tend to make everything more aggravating and agonising in our own minds. lots of creatives use this when establishing violence in a film, and it’s phenomenal. denis is literally training our own mind, making us think of the worst pain possible and how we could overcome it in the end. paul is merely a vessel to the audience creating a new version of themselves. the tension established in this sequence will persist, following the protagonists, it is as if paul’s face never has time to relax again- in a way ours doesn’t either.

the scene obviously takes place in the far future but I kept asking myself why it felt like we went back in history. after all the sci-fi elements don’t really come forward. dune is not about the evolution of technology but rather of the human brain. it plays with what humans can be capable of, not machines so making the hero go through his first and most important test in a library with books and not computers everywhere just underlines the importance of educating the mind.

having read this scene after having watched the movie three times at the time I can say with confidence that this scene is very accurate to the book. denis said the book itself felt like his bible in a way and you can sense that. the dialogue in the book is used in the movie and denis helped me envision what was going on, since in my opinion frank herbert makes it rather difficult for the reader to create a mental picture.

denis’ terrifyingly beautiful filmmaking:

you might have asked yourself why on earth out of all these scenes I picked this one. seemingly nothing happens, but it later picks up the pace and quite honestly takes your breath away. if all the other action, high budget scenes fall to the back of your mind and you can fully recall a scene with two actors and seemingly no dialogue that’s a sign that the film you just watched can stand without those high budget scenes.

dune isn’t just some action movie, not just a blockbuster- but genuinely deals with topics that are still important today. it showcases the absolute destruction of human beings caused by other human beings. we are dealing with corruption, colonial structures, capitalism etc. the book helps you see a division of human beings and humans that turned into animals in order to keep their position of power. look between the lines, pay attention to the dialogue, and also look at the incredible filmmaking that takes place- it’s effortless cinema.

colonialism, capitalism, exploitation, corruption, nepotism; dune really doesn’t put technology of the future in the foreground but much rather the politics such a futuristic and dystopian society would have. in a way it feels like school: popular nice kid being exploited by a group of absolute idiots; someone said it reminded them of a somewhat mafia-esque structure which made me laugh at first… but… yeah I agree.

people weren’t really sure if another reprise of the iconic novel would be possible but in conclusion I think denis villeneuve might have cracked the code, I obviously did not grow up with the book… thank the lord I’m not in my fifties or sixties but I am reading it right now and I would genuinely say if you’ve seen the film you really do not need to read the book since in my opinion that man and all the people attached to the project captured everything in sincere detail. some might say something is missing but let’s be honest… the film is already 2 hours 35 minutes long. you have to leave out some stuff in order to make a movie of the right length. they now have green light for the sequel and I am excited to see how the rest of the story unfolds. in a way this man really helped me envision the world of dune, he created pictures in my head since the book isn’t really an easy read, in my opinion herbert just can’t help me create a mental picture of what I am reading but denis made it clear what is important and worthy being captured.

until the sequel I have lots of time to read all of the six books of dune… wish me luck.

quick author’s note: I have now seen dune eight times and I am really not sorry about it.

lesley. xxx

p.s. I could go on and on talking about this scene and this movie, I genuinely had to stop myself but dune was most probably my fave release of 2021. hope you enjoyed the blog post this week and I cannot wait to talk about the other movies I have had the pleasure of viewing these past few weeks and months.