“Do you guys ever think about dying?” When Margot Robbie’s glittering disco-dancing Barbie asked this question mid-blowout party in the trailer for director Greta Gerwig’s love letter to the iconic doll, it was our first indication that the film may be exploring some darker themes. However, giving us a full-blown existential crisis? Now, that was something we were only expecting from Christopher Nolan’s latest feature Oppenheimer, a profound psychological thriller which tells the story of the troubled father of the atomic bomb. That’s the other half of what is affectionately being called ‘Barbenheimer’, with people planning to watch both films back-back, spending a day at the cinema. But, as it turns out, life in plastic isn’t so fantastic…
The marketing campaign for Barbie has been a pink fever dream, with Ryan Gosling playfully delivering the Kenergy and Robbie dressing as various Barbies from throughout history on the press tour. Sparkly trailers also promised plenty of fun and whilst the film is indeed absolutely joyous at times, it is also unafraid to dive into more serious themes, addressing questions relating to the very notion of life and death.
