Film Review: Captain Marvel (2019) - Dir. Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck

Pictured: Brie Larson as Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel - Dir. Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck - Director of Photography: Ben Davis, BSC - Production Designer: Charles Wood - Costume Designer: Sanja Hays

"My name is Carol Danvers."

Memory and identity are fascinating things to explore in the medium of film. Through inventive use of subjective chronology in editing, one can explore the very processes of memory which help to make us whole in ways that are really impossible to do on stage or in literature. And I will grant that the Elliot Graham (Academy Award nominee for 'Milk) and Debbie Berman, under Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's direction, do make interesting editorial decisions in capturing the disorientation of rediscovering oneself, particularly in a brilliantly constructed sequence where Talos and his crew scour Carol Danvers' memories in search of what they're looking for. 

But this is surface-level exploration of the themes the movie seems to be intrigued by but never excited about. There's a strong potential for an inner struggle the likes of which the Marvel Cinematic universe hasn't seen before, one that ultimately gets into the core of what I find fascinating about superhero mythology; the idea of the alter ego.

There is Carol Danvers, there is Vers, and there is Captain Marvel. There is potential here to explore the death of the old self to make way for the new. Carol Danvers is a spunky, rather cocky pilot who forced her way through a system that didn't want her. There is Vers, a confident Starforce soldier who is told to suppress who she is, suppress her emotion (which we're really told about rather than shown; she acts... about the same as she did as Carol, which hurts the film's central idea surrounding identity/agency), suppress the things that made her Carol Danvers, who is presumed dead. There is Captain Marvel, the hero she becomes in the end, a combination of all she lost as Carol and all she gained as Vers. "On Hala, you were reborn," The Supreme Intelligence says in an attempt to control Vers. "I want you to be the best version of yourself," says her mentor Yon-Rogg, the best version of herself being one that isn't "so emotional".

I grew up bearing witness to emotional abuse, the abuse of an insecure individual, broken down to being "content in misery", living in quiet suffering, meant to suppress all feelings and doubts about said abuse. Said individual grew up insecure, hit bottom. Said individual is currently working towards confidence, towards strength, towards resolution after what I'd call emotional oppression.

Now, this oppression is told to us in the film rather than shown. Vers is not punished for proving "overemotional", she is not shamed for her humanity, she is not disregarded for her reactions to anything. She is not belittled in ways I recognize. Midsommar, though not a film necessarily centered around sexism, understands the quietly toxic behaviors that chip away at one's self-confidence and esteem. 

Carol never seems that bothered either. She takes it in stride, she never faces the sorts of lapses in confidence one might face after years of being pushed down. Yes, her resilience is admirable, to quote Kelly Sue DeConnick, Captain America gets back up because it's the right thing to do while Captain Marvel gets back up because "fuck you." 

But one key aspect that would help bring her closer to relatability is that doubt, when you're struggling with who you are and working your way back towards confidence and you're unsure if you can do it. It's a doubt I've seen firsthand. It's a doubt that hurts to witness. And to push past that doubt and that fear would make a truly empowering fantasy.

This is where the use of the alter ego comes back into play. Carol, Vers, Captain Marvel. The struggle to know who you are is universal. It is one I experience, it is one those I love and care for experience. And to bring that to life through the narrative, using the loss of her past as metaphor for finding oneself emotionally, would have been a brilliant idea, at least personally. 

The abused individual mentioned, they are not who they were before their abuse. But they are working towards a healthy balance of who they were and who they will be. And it has been a sight to see. It has been a slow, difficult change but it has been and is taking place. And as much as I enjoyed the adventure of the film, its messages of feminist empowerment ring hollow to me, because they're ultimately lightweight. Catharsis is unfounded, for the reclamation of identity comes without much struggle and the oppression of Carol Danvers is not communicated well enough. 

Carol, Vers, Marvel. What a fascinating struggle it could have been to see her struggle with who she is on a level deeper than horrified confusion. To find her alienated from both her human and Kree lives. To struggle to say goodbye to the life and familiarity of Starforce in favor of a better life. To see her come to terms with Carol and with Vers to become Captain Marvel, to then become the best version of herself. 

Perhaps I'm not seeing something essential and these ideas are already found within the movie. But for my tastes, they aren't explored enough or explored satisfactorily. Perhaps I'm asking too much from a Marvel Studios film. But Endgame showed us a Thor allowed to struggle with his confidence after years of a self-assured God of Thunder so perhaps I'm not asking for too much. 

Regardless, I do want to have faith in Carol Danvers as a character. Brie Larson's performance is badass, enthusiastic, sassy, and frankly quite cool. Her chemistry with Samuel L. Jackson is very clear from the moment they meet. I believe in Marvel Studios' abilty to do better by their characters and give them quite strong starting arcs, such as Tony in the first Iron Man film and Thor in his first outing. Carol Danvers, for all of her cockiness, her standoffishness, her attitude, deserves better. And I truly hope she receives it. Until then, I'll simply wait and hope that this series next entry goes higher, further, and faster than its predecessor. 

- The Songbird