‘Queen of Earth’ review: Elisabeth Moss gives her all in the best movie you aren't talking about

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Queen of Earth, the latest film from writer/director Alex Ross Perry is the most emotionally draining 90 minutes of 2015. The portrait of a fractured woman is marvelously put together by Elisabeth Moss, who, in an alternate universe, would be considered for every acting award imaginable.

After breaking up with her long-term boyfriend, Catherine (Moss) heads to her friend Virginia’s (Katherine Waterston) summer home, which is actually owned by Virginia’s family. In the year since her last visit to the home outside New York City, Catherine’s boyfriend has left her and her father, a famous artist, killed himself. Virginia hopes that time away from the city will help her friend, but she clearly has underestimated how the two traumatic events hurt Catherine.

For the remainder of the film, Queen of Earth shows the two friends questioning their relationship as Catherine gets closer to a point of no return. We see flashes of last year’s summer, when Catherine was helping Virginia though a difficult time. It shows us how different the two are and clearly makes you wonder why they are friends at all.

While this may sound like a Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?-style movie, where people are stuck close together, using their words as weapons of torment, Queen of Earth is much more laser-focused on one character. Catherine’s emotional breakdown is the center and her unpredictability directs the film.

Moss’ incredible performance features everything a director could want from an actress. She looks like she cried for seven consecutive days before filming started. You can get lost in her face, watching every tick for signs of where she wants to go next. It’s really a perfect performance, as she has to deliver long monologues but also excel at telling a story without words. Moss is so realistic in the role that it feels like she really is breaking down.

Katherine Waterston often struggles to keep up with Moss. While Waterston’s performance in Inherent Vice was a major part of that film, Waterston is overshadowed by her co-star. There is one magnificent scene with the two of them though, where she and Moss trade long monologues in a single take. Perry doesn’t make any cuts, instead choosing to move the camera slowly from one woman to the other.

Perry clearly has a love for Roman Polanski’s early films. While it doesn’t seem like a natural horror film, threads from Rosemary’s Baby and Repulsion pop up. Plus, he uses the same title font from Rosemary’s Baby, which is hard to ignore.

There is still some horror in Queen of Earth. One night, Catherine tells a random guy. “I could kill you right now and no one would know.” Moss has a devilish smile and it seems like she really could do it since we’ve seen how unpredictable she can be. That’s where the horror comes from.

Making it through Queen of Earth can feel like an endurance test, even at just 90 minutes. It is a dreary film and not one I’d recommend seeing during the holiday season. Still, it’s an incredible example of how a performance can dominate a film. Moss is a star talent outside Mad Men and this film just adds to her growing legend.

Queen of Earth is now streaming on Netflix.