Today’s film review ｜ ＂Door Lock＂： How difficult is it for women living alone？

Special feature of 1905 film network On November 19th, 2021, a suspense crime movie starring director, actor and actress was released in China. The film tells the story of Fang Hui, who is single and beautiful, struggling alone in a big city. One night, she suddenly heard someone violently tugging at the door handle and trying to break in, which made Fang Hui’s quiet solitary life suddenly shrouded in the shadow of panic.

The criticism of "Door Lock" is polarized. As the first film to focus on the theme of women living alone, on the one hand, the film shows the dangers that women living alone are vulnerable to; On the other hand, the rhythm of the second half of the film collapses and the content is fragmented. Many people think that this treatment has dispelled the real situation of women living alone. The theme of the film is closely related to many women living alone, which makes many viewers begin to face up to a question: How difficult is it for women living alone? It also makes many people curious, why is it controversial to pay attention to the word-of-mouth of the popular "Door Lock"?

As a safe harbor, home is a warm and stable existence in many people’s minds, but such a "last line of defense" can’t prevent those ubiquitous dangers in many cases. In the first half, The Door Lock creates an atmosphere that makes people feel extremely scary, but in reality, the dangers faced by many women living alone are often more cruel than the movies. Film critic Ma Ning talked about his own experience: "I rented a house by myself at that time. At 11 or 12 o’clock in the evening, suddenly someone knocked at the door outside. It was a strange man’s voice, saying that you left your key on the lock and didn’t pull it out. I remind you to take it. I felt something was wrong at that time. I said, thank you. I’ll ask my husband to fix it later. In fact, I’m a single woman living alone. Later, I contacted the property and the community. They said that there were often such means of committing crimes during this time. "

"Door Lock" is not only the title of the film, but also the only line of defense for the family. In the film, the male intermediary expels the heroine in order to get higher pay. In real life, the intermediary can easily obtain private information because of the convenience of work, and also has the conditions to open the door lock and enter the house. This makes another layer of suspense and horror of the film come from the fact that the murderer may be anyone around the victim, not only people familiar with him, but also industries that are closely related to our lives, such as intermediaries, couriers, and takeaways. We respect the difficulties of these industries, but we also need to remind women who live alone to keep their eyes open and protect themselves.

In addition to living alone, the film also shows the dangers women encounter in the workplace. The appearance of Fang Hui’s leader in the film once brought light and hope, and he gave Fang Hui some help. However, with the development of the plot, it is found that he is also hurting Fang Hui, and it is a workplace sexual harassment that is difficult to resist positively. This plot triggered a wide discussion among netizens, and the topic of "workplace harassment in Bai Baihe’s plays" also made a hot search in Weibo. In many film and television works, sexual harassment in the workplace is presented. For example, in the hit drama "Little Shede", Nan Li, who plays the role, met with the malicious persuasion of her partner at the wine table. Sexual harassment in the workplace is a common phenomenon, which may come from bosses, colleagues, or partners brought about by working relationships.

Ma Ning provides a way to deal with women who have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace: "The employer is responsible for this, and both the Civil Code and relevant laws and regulations have such provisions. As a woman, when she encounters sexual harassment or potential hints, she must not try to calm things down, but should reflect it at the first time, whether it is to your superior leader, or with the help of public media like Weibo, or some reliable authoritative media to pass it on, and at the same time, she must grasp the evidence to prevent being bitten by the other party. Of course, there is also a bottom line, that is, don’t think that you should accept this hint. It is a matter of course to get some equivalent exchanges. I think girls still have to keep the bottom line in some things and have zero tolerance for certain behaviors. "

The controversial point of "Door Lock" is not that it does not show the dangers that women living alone may encounter, but that it turns a universal event into an extreme case and weakens the real power of the film. The materials, topics and framing presented in the first half have resonated with many viewers. They could have dug deep in this respect and brought vigilance to women living alone. However, the treatment in the later part of the film has changed in a split way, which makes many people feel that the topic deviates and their psychological expectations have failed. Ma Ning said: "A highly resonant social topic of women living alone is actually very impactful if the texture is well shot. But in fact, it only covers the social topic, and it all boils down to an extremely abnormal person. In fact, there is a good detail design in the film. The heroine and her best friend have arranged a secret code. When they hear’ drink more hot water’, it means that the other party is in danger of asking for help. If her best friend in that place is in danger by another man, maybe I think it will be more reasonable, because it reflects the potential danger around the girl more dimensionally. "

There is a piece of music in the film. Every time it rings, it represents danger arrival. When everything disappears, the music is played again on the radio. The heroine originally wanted to shut down subconsciously, but after thinking for a moment, she turned the volume up even more, which represents her courage and determination to face the difficulties and solve the danger herself. I hope that girls will strengthen their courage and bravely say no to these dangers on the basis of paying attention to certain methods. At the same time, I hope that domestic filmmakers can be grounded and close to the core of the topic when shooting films with social themes, and create works that are more vital and can arouse the audience’s thinking.

The director’s observation of today’s film review;As a boy, after watching the movie, especially in the process of making this program, I listened to the discussion of two teachers, interviewed many female friends around me, and listened to some experiences they had encountered, deeply feeling the difficulties of girls living in this society. How difficult it is for girls living alone, for them, no matter how many preventive measures, danger will still come to you. I hope we can pay more attention to the safety of women who live alone, so that they can live a chic and beautiful life, as said at the end of the program. (Ma Rongze, director of Today’s Film Review)