Stuart Murdoch, the man, the myth, the twee. And now the writer/director?

Twee is a derogatory term for a genre frequently criticized for it's false sincerity and sentimentality. Turn to urban dictionary and you come up with definitions like “to be obnoxiously sweet, or quaint. It comes across as being disingenuous, corny, or effeminate.” or “the opposite of simple, authentic and true: desperately exquisite, contrived to the point of ridiculousness.”


However God Help The Girl, directed by Stuart Murdoch from indie pop band Belle and Sebastian (which urban dictionary refers to as “the Beatles of twee.") is far from insincere. While Murdoch’s film is no doubt guilty of the colorful, nostalgic and overly meticulous mise-en-scene of a Wes Anderson film, content wise Murdoch is more of a Fellini. 

Much like in Fellini's 8 1/2, one gets the feeling that Murdoch's characters are surrogates for himself and the people in his life. Besides the obvious experience of being in a band, aspects of Murdoch's life make their way into the plot. Murdoch's own struggles with an eating disorder take form in his character Eve. Murdoch is no stranger to the isolation and depression Eve faces nore, as evidenced by his successful career, the determination Eve shows pulling herself out of it with help from her friends of course. His religious faith takes form in his character James. While struggling to learn to dirrect on the job, Murdoch reportedly visited a local Glasgow church to pray for his movie. Similarly to how Fellini breaks up the stages of the anima into characters, Murdoch disperses his own attributes and past hardships amongst his main characters.

His character Anton even vocalizes criticism "the Beatles of twee" are no doubt familiar with -- "Your songs are depressing and self centered."

The musical numbers, rather than frivolous diversions from the truth, are Murdoch presenting the world to us as he, and thus his characters, see it. Here Fellini's influence again comes to the surface. Take, for example, the scene where the band is looking for a drummer and base player. They are chased by a ridiculously exaggerated number of people. That is most likely not what happened, however it's how the characters perceive the great number of people who auditioned for the band. Is that so far off from Guido envisioning elaborate movie sequences in his head?