Using witches as a symbol of female empowerment is not an uncommon depiction in recent media, and The Love Witch both fulfills and subverts this trope. The lead character, narcissistic sorceress Elaine, is devoted to finding love, but none of the men she meets live up to her expectations. She dreams of the perfect life, a fairy tale inspired fantasy that doesn’t really exist. The movie explores her anger and desire through a dreamy, visually pleasing lens.

The Love Witch takes place around the 1970s, and is actually shot on 35mm film to achieve a genuine effect. Anna Biller directed the movie, and it was released in 2016. The is truly beautiful to watch, with bright colors, superb costuming and elaborately decorated sets.

The opening scene of the film watches Elaine as she drives down a coastal highway, headed to her new town after her husband’s death. Her eye make up is a vibrant, signature blue she wears frequently throughout the film, and she smokes a cigarette as she drives. When Elaine arrives at her new apartment, she meets her neighbor, Trish who is an interior decorator.

Elaine’s witchcraft is not akin to, say, Harry Potter, but rather based on the real practices of Wicca. Elaine specializes in love magic, usually using potions she brews herself.

After arriving at her apartment, Elaine immediately sets her sights on a man she meets in town, casting a literal spell on him. He drives her to his cabin upstate, where he dies the morning after, as a result of her magic. Elaine claims he was simply too weak to handle her magic. 

Throughout the movie, she kills every man she becomes involved with. It is unclear whether she intends to, or whether they died as a result of the love magic she cast on them. Regardless, she shows no remorse for her actions, only disappointment in the failings of the dead men. 

Elaine wants nothing more than a man who loves her devotedly, but just as she tries to embody an impossible standard for women, she expects the counterpart from her partners. Elaine believes that men want nothing more than “a pretty girl to love them, to take care of them,”and tells Trish so when they have tea together. Elaine works hard to fulfill this standard. In this way, it is clear that despite Elaine´s confidence, she is far from the depiction of a genuinely healthy and empowered person, as her life revolves around pleasing the men she seduces, who then become the victims of her reckless use of magick.

Finally, Elaine meets the man she believes is the one. Griff is a police officer, and unbeknownst to Elaine, is already on her trail. They appear to be falling in love, and given the fairy-fairy-tale-inspired scenes, it’s exactly the way Elaine wants it. Together, they hold an informal marriage ceremony with Elaine’s former coven. But when he discovers evidence linking her to the murders, he confronts Elaine. He tells her that no man will ever love her enough. Realizing he is right, she will never be satisfied, she stabs him through the heart. 

Overall, I thought The Love Witch was an interesting and unique movie, and I would recommend watching it. It is currently available on the streaming service Peacock.