Scarlet
Film
Stunning in its introduction, Scarlet sets the screen on fire with Scarlet (Mana Ashida), a 16th Century Danish princess, wandering "The Otherworld" in a quest to exact revenge against her murderous Uncle Claudius (Kôji Yakusho). Outstretched hands of the dead seek to pull her down into the muck while a massive lightning breathing dragon lords above, shrouded in the ominous clouds, all of which paint a grim picture for our protagonist. Unfortunately, after this torrid start, brimming with gothic medieval fantasy elements shown in gorgeously animated detail, Mamoru Hosoda's latest animated adventure spirals into lethargy and a frustrating lack of consistent messaging. All of which makes Scarlet, an overlong and tepid showing.
If there's one thing Hosoda loves to do, and do rather well, is take a classic story and adapt it to the modern age or add a little pinch of sci-fi adventure. His last film Belle was an adaption of Beauty and the Beast and Scarlet is a mirror image of William Shakespeare's Hamlet. Scarlet, in a gender-swapped role of Hamlet, is thrust into a fiery fit of vengeance when her evil Uncle Claudius frames her father King Amleth (Masachika Ichimura)-his name being an anagram for Hamlet-for conspiring with a neighboring kingdom, thus forcing his public execution. Attempting to exact her vengeance on her Uncle, Scarlet poisons his drink only for Claudius to switch them, leaving the young princess writhing on the floor and frothing at the mouth. Which brings us to "The Otherworld," a liminal space that exists between bleak nothingness and the Infinite Land. Scarlet quickly learns that Claudius is trapped in this world as well, leading her to shed the shackles of the dead's hands, arm herself with the weapons laying around the desert-like land, and push towards her vengeance.
With a twist on Hamlet like that I was fully anticipating being completely immersed in Hosoda's fantastical version of Shakespeare's story. The introduction served as a perfect hook, and the idea of "The Otherworld" satisfied my craving for gothic intensity that the film's synopsis provoked. Yet Hosoda's twisting of the source material, as assuredly as it brought a little spice to the table, also soiled the dish. In "The Otherworld" time doesn't exist which brings characters together across time itself. Scarlet soon befriends an overly idealistic Hijiri (Masaki Okada) a modern-era nurse who abhors the very violence that Scarlet exists to exact. His beckoning of others in this purgatory, raiders and violent mobs, to stop their violence and live together in harmony brings the original plot line to a screeching halt. Emphasized by the duo's meeting of a nomadic group of outsiders, filled with characters across all of time and all over the world, results in a song and dance that yielded more yawns than it did any heartwarming sensation. In fact it relegated the middle portion of the film into a muddy slog that was damn near annoying to get through, tabling the very essence of the story as a tale of revenge for something less intriguing.
Unfortunately, the finale does little to get back on track. Instead, it feels like a drawn out will she, won't she moment as Scarlet reconciles with her father's last word being "forgive" while being within arms reach of her goal. It all comes off too schmaltzy and overwrought to actually end up saying anything, offering up the same idealistic zeal Hijiri had been spouting. Yet in the end we realize we never saw Scarlet delve into the toxic vengeance, and the violence it begets, that had been building up throughout the film. At one point using her sheathed sword to knock opposing soldiers off their horses when she's been training and heralded as a warrior the whole time. On the other hand she also never succumbs fully to the ideals of Hijiri, still hellbent on revenge and opposed to pacifism and forgiving her Uncle. Resulting in a difficult middle-ground that renders Scarlet's development inert. It's evident that Hosoda is attempting to say something about the state of the modern world, and the fantastical spin on Hamlet should be a great way to do it. Scarlet driven by rage and vengeance all the while teetering on the edge of nothingness in "The Otherworld" is a high stakes set up for Shakespeare's tragedy, but Scarlet ends up sitting on a fence, failing to dive onto one side.
Froth
If Scarlet had gone deeper into the hellish imagery, Hosoda was apparently inspired by Barlowe's Inferno something that's only evident in the visuals of the introduction, then maybe I would've opted for a darker beer. Then again, if the film had fully committed in the other direction with Scarlet and Hijiri's pacifism becoming one and the middle portion not being a relative snooze then maybe I could've argued a light pilsner or lager. However, much like Scarlet, I'm trapped in this in-between and am solely relying on beers for their namesake over their style, which is what brought me to Stoup Brewing's Go Into the Light Carol Anne IPA. Sure, it might be named for the fact that days are getting longer as we in the PNW shed our long durations of darkness and bask in the sun, but I choose to interpret it as something relating to the death of our characters in Scarlet. Ominous? Sure. Necessary? Absolutely.
Go Into the Light Carol Anne is a light and refreshing IPA that didn't have much hoppiness or bitterness to me, but did have a subtle flow of citrus flavors that came through. It presents a strong pine flavor that aids in the light floral feel of the beer, along with its translucent golden appearance. While I can't say this one was my favorite from Stoup, I did find the addition of Waimea hops to be pretty exciting. I would consider these hops relatively rare here, take this with a grain of salt as I haven't drank every beer in Seattle, but the presence of pine and a zesty aroma of tangerine were welcome additions.
