"A Petticoat Lobotomy."
Video: Edward Land.
Audio: Edward Land & Luke Skinner.
Year: 2011 (June).
Synopsis-
The inexcusable portrayal of the political conditioning of A Clockwork Orange fused with the entrepreneurial delinquent violation of Eraserhead.
A Petticoat Lobotomy opens fairly abruptly with what may be the films conclusion; a voice over from an unnamed character introduces the audience to an uninhabited isolated environment, where we are lead to believe that a struggle may have taken place, by whom or with what is left unclear. The detached narration leads through the opening sequence offering a vague and ambiguous introduction into the psyche of the unidentified character; hinting at the possibility of what is to come, or what has past.
A title card reading "Epilogue (or once upon a time)" assumes or indicates the start of Act 1. The setting recognizable from the opening sequence begins to expand the narrative; the tone has changed from a strained interrupted reminiscing thought to a stream of free association portrayed as diary or journal entries from the perspective of the films protagonist. As Act 1 continues the delusion and confusion of the unnamed character begins to become evident, title cards read quotes that indicate another level of awareness in the progression of the story. Dream logic in narrative flow is used in Act 1 to symbolize the fine line between insanity and reality or the vague control of the conscious and subconscious of the human condition adding to the uncertainty of the protagonist's fate.
Unexplained objects that appear to have some importance to the films character are juxtaposed against images which hint at memories of past or premonitions of forthcoming events, whether this is for the benefit of the audience or visualized in the mind of protagonist is unknown, it does however offer suggestion or reason for the mental and physical condition of the character as it deteriorates through the progression of the scene.
A definition title card introduces Act 2 in place of an exterior shot indicating or suggesting that a change in environment has occurred whilst illustrating the reason for the change of setting and offering a suggestion of a past era. Through a change in camera perspectives, alternating between first person and third the separation between protagonist and environment is evident, the intimacy has now been lost between the two and realization of the impending situation begins to manifest itself within the mind of the protagonist. The non-linear narrative of Act 2 suggests that time has become warped or undecipherable and that reality is unclear. The reason for this violation once again is left indistinct; is it for the sanity of the human condition, preservation of a society or a ruthless backstreet market dealing in the production and sale of anatomical waste material.
With the protagonists fate sealed or ambiguously implied the setting once more resorts back to that of the opening scene, this we are lead to believe deals with the characters consequence after the procedure. This time however there is a clear divide between character and surroundings and a divide within the internal infrastructure of the characters mind, portrayed by the contrast of external view points and internal visual montages and spoken monologues. Broken up by arrangement and similar to Act 2, time once more has become distorted and fragmented reflecting that of the characters psyche. Act 3 contains an undercurrent of melancholy, through which the protagonist attempts to find reason for his ordeal and forgiveness for his tormentors while attempting to become accustomed to this new way of conditioning.
As the film ends it is unclear whether the opening sequence was in fact the end of the film; whether the narration which accompanied it was post-humorous or whether the sequence would in fact appear chronologically after the last scene, however as Act 3 intensifies into the climax of the sudden and abrupt ending, the fate of the film's protagonist is left to be decided in the mind of the observer.
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