If you google the film Spinster, you will see that it has a 56% rating on Metacritic and hovers at around 3 out of 5 stars on multiple publications. Suffice it to say that the critical reception has been tepid. As someone who has more deference for critics than any good critical thinker should, it takes a lot for me to shove past them and bravely approach a work of cinema intending to formulate my own opinion about its quality. But with a film called Spinster, I just had to.
Though I was initially put off by 39-year-old Gaby's antagonistic behavior toward everyone she encounters in the first ten minutes of the film, I still knew I was in good hands, both with the creative team and with the film's star, Chelsea Peretti. Writer Jennifer Deyell shows us that Gaby's antagonistic tendencies are over the top but are still prompted by the world around her.
The first person who we see Gaby (Peretti) antagonize is a woman who is a little too excited to be getting married. This character tells the romantic story of how she met her fiancé, congratulating herself excessively for participating in the sacred tradition of monogamy, and she makes some hyperbolic statement about how love is the most natural human tendency. Gaby responds sardonically, with a look of sheer exhaustion on her face, and she drives away this potential customer for her catering business. It is clear that Gaby has been worn down by the pressure to happily engage in a long-term romantic partnership. A couple of scenes later, in what is perhaps the film's most outrageous moment, she blows off steam by kicking over a water cooler at a softball game that she attends to try and meet men.
As far as our society has come in its acceptance of single women, and single adults in general, it is still difficult to navigate environments in which being married with children is the norm. Spinster shows us how alienating these environments can be for single people. Gaby ends up in social situations with married folks at numerous points throughout the film, and even when she is standing up for herself in a way that is entirely warranted, you can see that she is not her best self. When anticipating or enduring the judgment of her married peers, Gaby is on the defensive, which does not lead to her most shining moments.
However, the film also shows us what happens when Gaby ends up in an environment where people are primarily concerned with things other than their spouses and children, if they even have those. She is finally afforded some breathing room when attends a party held by her neighbor, a gray-haired biology professor who just happens to be a spinster herself. The guests are graduate students who are more concerned with the bone structure of birds than they are with romance. When Gaby meets them, she feels at ease and is able to open herself up to connection.
As one tepid review pointed out, this is not earth-shattering content. We've all heard this story before: A character feels ashamed of the ways that they deviate from the norm, but they eventually find acceptance, both internally and externally. They are then able to move past their self-consciousness and turn their attention to the outside world, positively impacting those around them. It's a simple story, but I don't think it gets old.
I enjoyed spending time with Gaby and seeing her grow from someone who sucks all the air out of the room to someone who knows her strengths and shares them with those around her. Over the course of the film, she adopts a dog, teaches her niece how to knit, gently critiques her brother's standup set, and opens a super cute restaurant. Rather than focusing on defending herself, she actively contributes to her community.
This is not a heavy-hitting film. It won't necessarily cause you to bust out laughing, but it has a sense of lightness to it, and that's what this story deserves. It's the story of a woman building her confidence and finding her place. Since she is a straight white woman who comes from a family with money, the odds are not exactly stacked against her, and the vast majority of her work is internal. Spinster acknowledges the magnitude of Gaby's challenges while keeping the tone appropriately light.
I am not going to remember this film forever, and it did not change my life, but I liked it! I had a good time, and I related to the specific experience of trying to explain yourself to people who are not open to the idea that a person can be ok without a romantic partner. Though I am disappointed by the lukewarm critical reception, most people are likely willing to push past unenthusiastic reviews. In fact, many people do not even look at reviews. I am one of the few who can name the film critics for major US publications off the top my head, and one of the few who regard them as celebrities. This is a good thing.
