“Gemini” is writer/director Aaron Katz’s cool, seductive L.A. noir with a queer twist.
In this nifty film, which opens April 6 at the Ritz Bourse in Philadelphia and at the AMC in Voorhees, N.J., Jill (Lola Kirke), a personal assistant to in-demand actress Heather (Zoë Kravitz), becomes the suspect in a murder. But “Gemini” is not really about what it’s about — meaning, the “whodunit” element of the story is really just an excuse for Katz to tease the audience while also displaying gorgeous visuals and a dry, wry sense of humor.
In a recent phone interview, the filmmaker explained that he created “Gemini” after living in Los Angeles for a few years, and “seeing the world of Hollywood for the first time.” He also said he paid homage to detective fiction, “especially the British 1930s mysteries, Raymond Chandler and Ross McDonald [novels], as well as 1980s/1990s thriller movies,” such as “Jagged Edge.”
But what distinguishes the film and makes it so much damn fun to watch is how Katz draws in the audience, letting it unravel the story based on the characters’ behavior and visual clues.
For example, the film is deliberately ambiguous regarding Jill’s relationship with Heather as well as Heather’s relationship with Tracy (Greta Lee). It is unclear whether these women are “girlfriends” or girlfriends. To that question, Katz responds as obliquely as his characters might. “I left Jill’s relationship with Heather open to interpretation,” he said. “There are a couple of looks that are a good friend making sure Heather’s OK, or that Jill is left on the outside; that Heather wouldn’t consider her this way.”
“Gemini” looks at celebrity from the inside, says Katz. “The film reflects the ideas we all have that celebrities — that they are more than human, or elevated. Jill’s job — Heather’s managed to outsource everything unpleasant to Jill — means there’s an intense closeness [between them], as well as propriety.”
Another way Katz plays with the audience is to take genre conventions such as the “skeptical cop” character, Edward Ahn (John Cho), who suspects Jill knows more than she’s telling. The interplay between these characters is enjoyable, especially when she eludes him in a scene that is full of misdirection.
The filmmaker acknowledges Cho’s character is a riff on detectives from movies ranging from “In a Lonely Place” to “American Gigolo” and “Body Heat.” For some viewers, however, “Gemini” will be reminiscent of another great L.A. noir, Robert Altman’s meandering “The Long Goodbye,” which featured Philip Marlowe (Elliot Gould) tracking down an old friend who is suspected of killing his wife.
Katz shoots his film in a very deliberate style. “We wanted to capture the sense you get of L.A. when you are driving around at night — in terms of color and visual key,” he said. “In terms of space, my cinematographer Andrew Reed and I did what we do on all of our movies, which is to start with locations that have something compelling about them. We try to ask ourselves not how to fit what’s in the script, but what’s interesting or what’s unique about this place? Heather’s house has a giant glass rotunda — how can we use this space? We send Heather one way and Jill the other in this one shot, and it establishes the geography of the space. It’s important to get a sense of geography before you know how it plays into the plot.”
Other elements that contribute to the film’s moodiness include a few “meta” moments, as when a character tries to understand the killer’s motivation and wonders: If this were a movie, what would a character think or do?
While the look and feel of “Gemini” are enticing, the film’s biggest asset is Kirke. The actor, who played a lesbian in 2016’s “AWOL” (which was set and shot in Wilkes-Barre), gives a feisty performance here. Jill is efficient at her job and intelligent and calculating when investigating the murder, but she is also vulnerable, as when she has a good cry on the beach.
Katz said he took notice of Kirke when he saw her in the film, “Mistress America.”
“I wrote the script with her in mind. I had never met her and hoped she’d do it. I sent her an early draft, and it turned out she was excited by it. So, we brought her into the process and developed Jill together, collaborating on finding out who she is.”
The crying scene on the beach was especially challenging to write, he said. “I want characters to hide how they really feel. The stoicism in these kinds of movies is buried under social codes, and that is really appealing to me.” Then he added, “But it’s important to be truthful.”
“Gemini” plays with the truth and with genre. It is a delicious mix that like
every great noir is both cynical and highly satisfying.