Just in case you hadn’t noticed: the White Lily Society is all about the Intersection of Love and Violence. While we may dawdle, we may rant, we may circle, that one theme is always guaranteed, in one way or another. But today we are not talking about Love. No, we are discussing its relative: Desire. And specifically, the many forms it can take, the purposes it can serve, and how those are expressed through film.
Though I am not a film critic, I am always deeply affected and shaped by the films I love. I’m a big fan of visuals and “vibes”— meaning cinematography, colour, costumes, set design, themes, motifs, more so than distinct “plot” (however you might characterise that). So, with that in mind: my love for films, and the theme of “Desire”, I set out to write for seven days straight about a different film, and what kind of Desire they represent.
This article is a collection of all these writings, which originated on Instagram. Keep in mind that means they are short, snappy, and condensed for the platform’s 2.200 character limit. They are hybrids of reviews, articles, and trivia meant to paint a concise image of the film. Some of these do contain spoilers, and images may be cropped for presentation reasons.
With that said, let’s start at the beginning.
Day 1.
“the Red Shoes” (1948) - desire for artistic self expression.
“the Red Shoes”, at heart, is an adapted fairytale, a story of a young woman torn between the man she loves, and the love of her craft: dance. “Her desire for artistic fulfillment is challenged when she finds herself falling in love […].” (BFI exhibition1)
Because her desires are so overwhelming, and so all-consuming, she cannot have one without losing the other. This inherent desire and the struggle it brings is portrayed in the film through the various long dance sequences, and through its magnificent use of colouring. The film is heralded as the golden standard of technicolor, and continues to inspire filmmakers today.
Most recently, director Greta Gerwig mentioned the film as inspiration for “Barbie” (2023), saying; “[…] just the theatricality and the colors and the way that it never pretended to be anything other than on a soundstage, I like that authentic artificiality. It’s really heightened. That whole ballet sequence was very inspiring in that way.” (interview for Letterboxd, 20232). The film also famously inspired an entire album from singer Kate Bush in 1993, and countless re-imaginings, such as Matthew Bourne’s stage and dance adaptation from 2016.
“Red shoes are never ordinary. They have a place in our shared childhood memories and in the wardrobes of our imaginations. In the Ballet of the Red Shoes, they take their wearer on a wild and willful dance which ends in terrible suffering and death. […] As symbols of love and loss, they hold a lingering enchantment.” (BFI exhibition)









Day 2.
“Bones and All” (2022) - desire to be understood, to find a place of belonging.
Half Americana road trip movie, half cannibal love story, “Bones and All” is a film unequivocally about desire, about being an outsider, about yearning for a place to call home. Main characters Maren and Lee are forced into a nomadic lifestyle because of their cannibalistic urges, literal pleasures of the flesh— something for which the plot never explicitly condemns them, instead choosing to take a more empathetic and understanding stance. To lose touch with the part of them that wants to eat is to lose a part of themselves, after all.
But it is exactly because of their attractions, their desires, that they are forced to exist on the peripheries of society. To exist as outsiders, always looking in, never calling a house a home.
“Here, sexual desire is tied to cannibalism from an opening slumber party, where flirtation swiftly escalates to a gruesome bite. In Lee, Maren sees someone who understands and shares this desire. Together, they explore this dark impulse, driven by the need to eat but terrified by what it could mean to find someone to share this lifestyle with” (Mashable, 20223)
Cannibalism and desire have always been intertwined concepts: the need to eat, to devour, might as well be synonymous with the need to be romantically consumed. Desire is a hunger, but whether it can be satiated or only kept at bay, “Bones and All” isn’t entirely sure on.









Day 3.
“Stoker” (2013) - first desires, growing into one’s desires.
Most of Stoker’s decidedly Gothic, haunting, eerie runtime is spent at the piano4. Half coming of age story, and half Hitchcock inspired psychosexual thriller, the film centers itself around protagonist India Stoker like a planetary system around its sun. Combined with fantastically intricate direction by Park Chan-wook, this is, at its core, a story of desires, urges, and what it means to grow up— whether or not growing up is entirely in our control, whether we are responsible for the outcome, or we are simply predestined to be a certain way.
Through Mia Wasikowska’s sharp and uncanny character India we are presented with a character “growing up” in a rather unorthodox way. Not only is India, as a young woman, growing into herself, and into her sexual desires, she is also growing into another desire: a certain blood lust, a propensity for violence.
Through the arrival of her mysterious uncle Charlie, who shares these murderous urges, India begins to unfold and bloom.
All of this is centered around the piano. The beautifully haunting score uses piano, the characters constantly play, and some of the most integral scenes of the film take place at the bench. In a way, the piano of the house is like a ghost, a specter, something that possesses the characters and makes them uninhibited, temporarily breaking free from their pruned and proper usual selves.
Other readings of the film are definitely possible. The New Yorker5 sees the story more as one of family mythology, a melodramatic “Fractured Fairytale” about secrets. But the eroticism of the film is undeniable, and the film’s opening lines, spoken by protagonist India, leave very little to imagine about its themes: “[…] Just as the skirt needs the wind to billow, I’m not formed by things that are of myself alone. […] Just as a flower does not choose its color, we are not responsible for what we have come to be. Only once you realize this do you become free, and to become adult is to become free.”









Day 4.
“Black Swan” (2010) - desire to be perfect.
“Black Swan” is a portrait of an obsessed artist, and a psychological thriller about how that pursuit ends up consuming her.
Nina Sayers is a frail, demure ballerina, with an obsession for perfection. But when she gets cast in a production of “Swan Lake” as both the pure white and the more sensual black swan, her director’s wishes go above even that: “Perfection is not just about control. It’s also about letting go. Surprise yourself so you can surprise the audience. Transcendence! Very few have it in them.”
Of course, Nina does end up reaching a state of transcendence, and perfection, but at an enormous cost. During the film, the character is shown as infantilized, stuck with an overbearing mother, and excessively self-critical— but all of that unravels as she pushes herself harder than ever before, including her mental state. Dedication turns to obsession, which in turn easily becomes madness. As the film progresses, Nina starts to act impulsively and out of character. Where she was a more prudish character before, she starts to seek out pleasure. Dance is not entirely a pleasurable thing for her: her relentless pursuit of perfection overshadows any enjoyment she gets from it. So, she turns to physical, sexual pleasures, drugs, alcohol, all of which cause her further dissolve as she starts to get visions of herself turning into a swan, of evil doppelgängers out to kill her, and twisted delusions in mirrors.
Natalie Portman was, just like her character, beyond dedicated to the film. She took a year of ballet classes on her own expenses before the film was even funded, and an estimated 80% of the dance shots in the film are her, untouched, and not her double. Additionally, she sustained countless injuries on set, including a concussion and a dislocated rib. But her efforts paid off: she won an Oscar for her immaculate and outstanding performance in the movie.









Day 5.
“Last Night in Soho” (2021) - desire to escape into the past.
The dangers of nostalgia were big on Edgar Wright’s mind as he directed his “Last Night in Soho”. The story of a young fashion designer with the ability to travel back into the past, the 1960s, through her dreams, where she is able to live the life of glamorous rookie singer Sandie. But not all is better in the past, and coupled with Eloise’s neglect of the present, the film spins itself from a cotton candy nostalgia flick straight into a psychological murder mystery, and a thriller.
Many of the films “double” scenes with both Eloise and Sandie were done practically, including the lengthy dance sequence with Matt Smith, who plays Sandie’s not-as-he -seems boyfriend and manager.
Eloise’s desire to escape her life, and venture into the past, is apparent right from the get-go. Her room is adorned with 1960s paraphernalia, posters, and trinkets.
The past is not always a better place, despite our best efforts to remember only the good parts. Edgar Wright himself said that “the further you get away from a decade, the more tendency there is to romanticize it6”. The choice of portraying London specifically in the 1960s then is a very deliberate one: booming and bustling, the 60s are probably the most glorified era in the Big Smoke’s history. Stories of the swinging 60s and its nightlife have practically made London’s myths as a vibrant cultural scene.
There is no point in looking at the past through rose-colored glasses. Eloise’s sympathetic, modern view of the 60s causes her to not realise the era’s flaws— the film chooses to focus most on the rampant misogyny, and sexual violence of the time. This is why the past is better off as just that: the past. The grass is not always greener.









Above: Dance Scene from “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” (1992). Source: see film.
Day 6.
“Bram Stoker’s Dracula” (1992) - desire for all-consuming romance, lust.
The original “Dracula” does not share the same deeply Romantic qualities as Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 film. The classic novel deals more with lust, than with romance, something which Coppola maintained, and added onto in his adaptation. In fact, “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” plays quite loosely with the text it’s adapting.
In giving Dracula a tragic backstory- his love, who looks just like Wilhelmina “Mina” Harker, killer herself- the film is essentially using that hypnotic vampire charisma to makes us care. In doing so, and adding a sizably melodramatic romance arc with Mina, the movie essentially diverts from it’s source to sell is something that looks and feels “Dracula”, but isn’t quite so.
Vampires throughout history have very often been associated with lust. From bloodlust to sexual lust, vampires are slaves to their desires and emotions. Always set in stone and always left wanting. This, in itself, makes the vampire a tragic figure, even if they do commit a slew of atrocities. Lucy herself, already unabashedly flirtatious as a mortal, becomes a sort of tragic beast after she turns, quite literally conflating desire and hunger: “My arms are hungry for you, my darling”.
Yet, [female] desire is not entirely vilified. Though Mina is blinded by love, romance, and lust, she is not a victim, instead choosing to turn on her own accord to be like her love. In the end, her story is a tragedy, not a tale of victimhood.
Of course, one cannot discuss the film without talking about the masterful practical effects and cinematography. Wherever possible, certain looks were achieved within-camera. The shot of the train passing over Jonathan’s journal was done by creating a book several feet wide, and putting it in front of a miniature train model. The shot of Dracula’s shadow acting independently of him was done with a double, and some placement trickery. It’s the very essence of movie magic, creativity, and visual opulence bursting from every shot that aids the story and makes the film so gripping to watch.









Day 7.
“Pearl” (2022) - desire to escape through fame.
The protagonist of Ti West’s twisted “Pearl” is not a good person. Unfeeling, anxious, and on the brink of madness, Pearl is a character yearning to escape not only her dull farm life, but also herself. Serving as a prequel to 2021’s “X”, “Pearl” provides a backstory for the former’s youth and fame obsessed villain, but ends up surpassing the original film.
Using a saturated, almost technicolor style, and multiple nods to films like “the Wizard of Oz” (1939), the film puts a fantastical and empathetic spin on what would otherwise be just a character-driven slasher movie. Of course, there are still deaths galore, splashed in bright cherry red blood. But the film is more an analysis of a character and their breakdown than anything else.
It works because the fears at the core of Pearl’s character are near-universal: the fear of living a dull, boring life, of having regrets, of missing out on one’s dreams, of being different in some way you can never quite put your finger on or fix. Because Pearl is quite different: she has little empathy for others, very little regard for life, and while she has a sweet exterior, she is manipulative and almost narcissistic. The problem is, however, that Pearl, throughout the movie, struggles with these differences. She is uniquely aware of the metaphorical plexiglas between herself and the world, between herself and her peers. She chooses to dance, and perform not just as a way to feel something, or as a vehicle to hopefully leave her quiet life behind, but as an expression of the performance she feels she has to put on in her everyday life, pretending to be like the others. Pretending to feel like the others: “[It] seems like there’s something missing in me that the rest of the world has […]”
At the end of the film, Pearl has a full breakdown, accepting her circumstances with a defeated, but ultimately positive attitude, but not stepping down from her darker urges either. She’s a character in limbo: a wolf hiding among sheep, knowing they have the sharpest teeth of the set.









And with that, we can wrap up the official White Lily Society “Seven Films of Desire” list. Some notes, further readings, and sources can be found in the footnotes below. If you are aching for more, and don’t want to suffer the delay between platforms, I highly suggest following the White Lily Society on Instagram, to get all the writing and inspiration served to you when it’s freshest. Additionally, you can subscribe to the Substack to get the monthly newsletter sent straight to your inbox (all other posts do not get emailed to you, in order to limit spam).
Thank you for your time,
x Sabrina Angelina, the White Lily Society
White Lily Society links // Sabrina Angelina links
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Note / Source: BFI exhibition “the Red Shoes: Beyond the Mirror”, 2024
Source: “The Official Barbie Watchlist: Greta Gerwig on the classic film influences behind her fantasy-comedy-kind-of-musical” by Mia Lee Vicino for Letterboxd, 2023 [Link]
Source: “'Bones and All' review: The next great queer horror movie has arrived with a cannibal romance” by Kristy Puchko for Mashable, 2022 [Link]
Further Reading: “Scores on Screen. Piano lessons: Death and Desire in Park Chan-wook’s ‘Stoker’” by Clare Nina Norelli for MUBI, 2018 [Link]