Queen of Earth is a claustrophobic drama that follows a passive-aggressive
battle of two women and subsequent plunging of one of them into madness.
While watching the film, the viewer may unwittingly recall Repulsion by
Roman Polanski or Persona by Ingmar Bergman.
The film takes place in the course of one week in a lake house where
Catherine comes to visit her girlfriend, Virginia in order to relax and get
over a recent death of her father and a break-up with her long-time lover.
The tension between the two women slowly builds up and the atmosphere
is not exactly improved by frequent visits of the “boy next door” whom
Virginia picks up just for the hell of it. The flashbacks intertwined with
the main story line show Catherine being infatuated with her ex-boyfriend
about a year ago.
Elisabeth Moss excels in the role of Catherine, seamlessly going through
a vast range of emotions. Details of her agitated face are the main visual
building blocks of this motion picture.