Kitchen Girl (2001)

Overview

In Kitchen Girl, Trecartin’s frequent collaborator Lizzie Fitch throws herself into a state of total hysteria, portraying a girl who takes the childhood game of “playing house” to a dark and disturbing place. After pretending to cook dinner for her “kids,” represented by colorful plush toys, she finds them lacking in appreciation of her efforts and throws them out the window. Fitch’s overwrought performance is perfectly matched by Trecartin’s skillful, hyperkinetic editing. Together they turn Trecartin’s kitchen into a dimly lit world of mental trauma. Combining the innocuous with the malevolent, Fitch and Trecartin escort the viewer on a whirlwind tour of household dysfunction, child abuse, and isolation.