I need to put down my more extended thoughts because the movie will not leave my brain so please forgive the double post.
Firstly a small disclaimer, I will be using They/them pronouns for the character Owen, this is not to diminish their status as a trans character or to minimize the themes of the film more that I feel it is most appropriated since while it is obvious they are trans it is never specified what they would identify as if they came to terms with their identity and came out. Given the nature of the movie it feels a bit wrong to assume and apply definitive labels.
In regards to my perception of the film in terms of mundanity versus fantasy I suppose that it doesn't really matter and the delineation is kind of false, what matters more is the themes and message. It is very similar to Twin Peaks or True Detective in that sense where if you obsess over mapping out and explaining the supernatural elements of the show over the character drama and the message then you are missing the forest for the pine trees.
The message is clearly about the trauma and experience of growing up queer in a world that does not accept you, wasting your life repressing who you are only to crumple under the weight of your regret. Whether that is purely mundane or magical or both isn't really important.
In regards to the Pink Opaque show, my reading is that it is basically Buffy the vampire Slayer, a surprisingly queer show that for many in suburbs in the 90s was a oasis of something different in a desert of heterosexual monogamy. This is supported by the fact that Maddy uses terms like Big Bad and Monster of the week when describing the plot of The Pink Opaque, popular terms on Tvtropes a website that started its existence cataloging Buffy the Vampire slayer. Later when Owen rewatches the Pink Opaque and sees that it is not as scary or interesting as they remember I felt that was a reference to real life fans of such material life Buffy who not only find their childhood classics to be less funny or scary then they remember but also less queer more dated and problematic then they would like to remember.
For Owen and Maddy the Pink Opaque was a window into another world they only half recognized in themselves it is a good and positive thing, but in the end it is not good enough on its own. It is not enough vent your queer identity by obsessing and cataloging a piece of queer media (or discussing and writing fanfic of said media on a site like SV
) , at some point you must live your own life and live it authentically to you. That is what I took away from Maddy and her speech under the star tent, and Owens rejection of her and the graves. Her's is a tragic false liberation, she is essentially one of the denizens of the final fantasy 7 house or one of the victims of Andrew Blake a man who manipulated and groomed vulnerable induvials through Lord of the Rigs and Harry Potter fanfiction, slowly convincing people they like him were reincarnations of fictional characters and that they were destined to be together.
The message I took away from it was that Maddy's plan and her psychosis isn't the answer, there is no magic spell of portal that can let you go back in time and save the life you could have lived being the queer person you are. The only way out is by accepting yourself and doing what you can with the time you have left, and as the movie said "There is still time" It's never too late to be who you are and feel the joy the world has denied you. The best time to plant the tree was ten years ago, the second best time to plant the tree is today.
Some other random less organized thoughts.
I realize in the context of the movie, Owen's fathers line about the Pink Opaque "Isn't that a girls show?" is a dark sign of the kind of oppressive atmosphere that Owen lives under and continues to feel even after their fathers passing but to me it made me laugh because I have fond memories of binge watching Buffy the vampire slayer with my father as a teen on the Space channel. Speaking of, while I don't want to disrespect other peoples experiences I would like to see more media where the father is the supportive comforting one in regards to their queer child. Personally speaking my father was way more accepting of my gayness and my siblings nonbinaryness then my mother was.
Another thing that might not be for me to say but this was my impression, Mr Melencholys minions Marco and Polo seemed to be designed to provoke a sense of dysphoria their designs echoing a kind of transphobic caricature of grotesque androgyny.
Some Criticisms.
The movie is overall amazing at setting a tone but I will admit I found the penultimate sequence where Owen remembers the finale Pink Opaque episode a little bit too much. The VFX were wonderful in a terrifying way (especially the effect on Mr Melencholys face rippling like tv static) but it strayed a little bit too close to creepypasta haunted mario game .exe esq stuff to me. IDK maybe I am a bit too internet poisoned but it just didn't work for me the way the rest of the movie did.
Another thing is connected to my previous post here. The movie is good but leans into its homage to Twin Peaks a little bit too much at times for my taste, in that it became a bit distracting during certain scenes like the important conversation between Owen and Maddie at the bar which felt cut and paste out of an episode of Twin Peaks the return.
Last thing is the movies portrayal of Owen's jobs, I understand and relate to the feeling of being trapped and suffocated in a dead end job but it also comes off a bit insensitive and classist to portray such work as a literally soul consuming vortex of despair.
overall amazing movie definitely something that is going to haunt me for a long time 8/10
