By Beattie Tow
The question may not be whether Sony’s Madame Webb (2024) is a poorly made film – but whether it is objectively bad and has the makings to be a cult classic.
This take is not intended as a pile on, but rather with some affection. The production and story of Madame Webb was so poorly realised that not only was I thoroughly entertained, it also even had me talking and thinking about it for several days afterwards.
Is that not a measure of movie success?
Although the cast is brimming with talent, it’s not enough to save this movie. Dakota Johnstone has a natural charisma, while the trio of Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced, and Celeste O’Connor seemed to have a genuine connection.
Merced is one of the industry’s fastest up-and-coming young talents. She showed her potential as a leading actor, bringing heart and depth despite the limited material.
The script, which has birthed a myriad of memes, is potentially the biggest hole to poke. Lines like “when you take on the responsibility, great power will come” had me questioning the script’s grammatical structure.
I went on to quote the movie all weekend.
Audio dialogue delivered by Tahar Rahim, the movie’s odd and poorly explained villain, was mismatched with what he was seen to be mouthing on screen. The dialogue seemed to be stitched nonsensically together, making for a confusing watching experience.
In other instances, the scene cut away just as Rahim took a breath to speak, evidence of a post-production pitfall.
After some quick research from the couch, I uncovered that some of the story and plot was rewritten and reshot in post-production. This was done to pivot away from Andrew Garfield’s Spiderman to instead align the timeline to Tom Holland’s Spiderman.
It is a classic example of how Marvel’s commitment to the multiverse above all subtracts from the quality of the standalone film.
For a film that is objectively poorly made it brought me a lot of joy. I hope they bring back the young female trio for a sequel, and that Sony have learned from their mistakes when they do.
Featured image: Wonderfully awful or just plain bad – you be the judge. Photo: YouTube
