Herzog's 'Bucking Fastard' Lacks Focus, Relies on Mara Twins' Oddity

Werner Herzog's new film, "Bucking Fastard," opens with an intriguing premise: twin sisters Jean and Joan Holbrooke, portrayed by Kate and Rooney Mara, dress identically and speak in unison. This initial oddity, inspired by the real-life Freda and Greta Chaplin, quickly gives way to a narrative that the film review describes as a "creepy, self-indulgent mess."

Directed by the 83-year-old German filmmaker, "Bucking Fastard" centers on the dour Holbrooke sisters. The film follows their entanglement with a man named Gareth, played by Orlando Bloom, whom they perceive as being in love with them. Early scenes depict the sisters' unusual approach to pursuing a relationship, including a shared encounter with Gareth that is described as both bizarre and unnerving.

However, the film's momentum falters approximately ten minutes into its runtime. The initial appeal of the sisters' synchronized behavior and peculiar dialogue is replaced by a sense of irritation and declining interest. The script features characters engaging in and uttering "ridiculous things with catherdral seriousness," according to the review. One such scene involves the sisters acquiring gasoline in a manner that prompts clarification from a gang member identifying themselves as "Chicken Chokers."

What begins as a potentially structured narrative around a court trial involving Gareth soon devolves into an "aimless meander through the Emerald Isle." The sisters, with unexplained American accents, are depicted as acting like the "Children of the Corn," or perhaps the "Adults of the Potatoes" given their age and location. Their quest for love takes them through various settings, including a Dublin apartment, a country farmhouse, and a cave where they attempt to dig a tunnel. This journey is characterized as a "folktale as told by a severely inebriated old man," with frequent, nonsensical tangents.

The film's plot further complicates as the sisters are described as tabloid sensations following the trial, though this manifests in the form of "two Dublin pervs lackadaisically stalking them." A suitor named Timothy (Domhnall Gleeson) spends an extended period teaching them a simple task, such as opening a sardine can, before the narrative takes an even more peculiar and less engaging turn.

An episode involving a man killing foxes due to a rabies outbreak leads to speculation whether the diseased canines serve as a metaphor for the "freaky twins." Another subplot involves a man explaining the origin of a man-made passage in a cave, attributing it to a lost mathematician. The review suggests that the film's disjointed narrative and tone dare the audience "not to care."

Despite the film's perceived flaws, the review highlights the performances of Kate and Rooney Mara as its primary virtue. The sisters effectively portray a "spooky entity," even though they are not conjoined twins. The Maras manage to maintain subtle individuality while embodying a unified, unsettling presence. Their efforts to invest the audience in their characters' struggles are hampered by Herzog's script and the film's "detached American Gothic tone."

"Bucking Fastard" runs for 109 minutes and was not yet rated at the time of the review. It premiered at the NY Film Festival on September 30.