The Love Witch is a film about a modern day witch who uses love magic to seduce men in an attempt to find that seemingly unattainable ideal of true love. The film was shot in style and tribute to 1960’s Technicolor thrillers and has a signature visual style with costumes and set designs that were personally crafted and curated by the filmmaker herself. I was immediately compelled by the film, not only because of my appreciation for independent filmmaking, but due to my innate fascination with witchcraft and magic and mysticism. Not to mention the fact that the film was directed by a woman, Anna Biller, an independent filmmaker, and a woman after my own heart. The Love Witch appealed to me in every witch way.
The film was shot on 35mm and was made using traditional film practices, utilizing color and lighting and practical in-camera effects. Anna Biller not only wrote, produced, and directed the film, she also handcrafted much of its costumes, set designs, and paintings, as well as composed some of its score. To personally dedicate that much time and effort into the production speaks volumes to her passion and vision for the film. And it certainly pays off, as her visual aesthetic bleeds through every frame. That is the type of filmmaking I truly appreciate and aspire to imitate in everything I create. Everything in the frame is deliberate, everything you see, hear, and feel as a viewer is completely constructed by the filmmaker. Biller handcrafted this film from beginning to end and created a highly stylized and aesthetically pleasing cinematic experience that explores themes of love, the witch archetype, and female fantasy.
In The Love Witch, Elaine is a beautiful young witch with long and dark hair, red lips, and a seductive gaze. Her gothic Victorian apartment is decorated with occult paintings, with an interior design inspired by the Thoth tarot deck. She dresses in vibrant colors, styled with ornate jewels, and layers of brightly colored makeup. She is man’s ultimate fantasy. She is also a pathological narcissist who turned to witchcraft after she had her heart broken and couldn’t cope with the pain of the constant emotional abuse from the men in her life. She is so desperate to find a man to truly love and accept her that she uses sex and love magic to seduce them. But as everyone knows, love spells never work out the way you think they will, and that love drives these men crazy and literally kills them. Elaine loves men... to death.
Witchcraft essentially involves concentrating energy and using your will to get what you want. In my personal studies on witchcraft I’ve learned that love spells and magic should always be cast on yourself, rather than attempting to manipulate the will of others, you want to vibrate at the frequency of love in order to attract more of the love you want into your life. However, Elaine is so misguided in her belief that a woman should give a man his fantasy in order to gain their love, that her self worth is completely wrapped up in pleasing a man. According to Biller, “She plays that record that women play over and over again in their heads when they are rejected: “Why doesn’t he love me anymore? What’s wrong with me? How can I get him back?” It is a truth universally acknowledged that love makes people crazy, and Elaine so desperately tries to live up to man’s feminine ideal that it drives her to the brink of insanity. In her director’s statement Biller says, “My hope is that other women will identify with Elaine as I do: as a woman seeking love, who is driven mad by never really being loved for who she is, but only for the male fantasies she has been brainwashed to fulfill.” I recommend this film to anyone who has ever dealt with such heartache or who has ever been driven mad by love. I hope this film challenges any unrealistic ideals you may have that leave you feeling worthless or unloveable, and I hope this film empowers you.