Sundance London 2013: Peaches Does Herself

Friday 26^th April, 6.00pm – O2 Cineworld (Screen 8)

Saturday 27^th April, 11.30am – O2 Cineworld (Sky Superscreen)

Think genital-inspired set pieces, dance moves to make your body ache, and a performer called the “naked cowgirl” (who can do a rather scary party trick with some matches) – Peaches Does Herself is an abstract spectacle of sexuality and electro energy. It follows a loose storyline of lust and transgender themes, played out to the throbbing beats of Canadian musician Peaches.

The film opens with a German man reading what seems to be an academic lecture on Peaches’ work, triggering laughter through his intermittent escaping English words such as “clitoris”. This is suddenly interrupted by the start of Peaches’ performance, and from here onwards chaos ensues.

The erotic extravagances and transsexual theatrics that are at the heart of this film focus on the messages within Peaches’ music, which fragment gender stereotypes and break down boundaries of sexual identity. In this way the performances are daring, full of colour and creativity, and entertaining by way of their exaggerated nature.

The problem is that, while shocking and strange, the film fails to apply any method to this madness or make any kind of statement through its grand conceptual imagery. The ideas (if indeed there are any at all) behind the bizarre scenes of a naked eccentric, or breaking the fourth wall at the end feel somehow hollow, designed more for shock value and show than to emphasise a message.

This film is likely to work well for fans of Peaches’ music who will see the hyped up, sex-fuelled visuals as an added element to the charisma of her personality and tunes. For others, however, this may come across as a film that tries too hard to have an effect, with or without meaning, and in the process appears superficial and silly.

For debate-sparking cinema and something unlike anything you’ve seen before, this will do the trick. Just bear in mind that it’s probably not one for the prudish!

Verdict: [rating=2] 

Amber Bryce

Peaches Does Herself is released in selected cinemas later this year.

Read more reviews from the Sundance Film and Music Festival 2013 here.

For further information about the Sundance Film and Music Festival 2013 visit here.

Watch the trailer for Peaches Does Herself here: