- Messages
- 14,905
- Reaction score
- 2,434
- Trophy Points
- 228
thecuddlyninja said:You Were Never Really Here (2017)
Spellbinding lead performance and some interesting thoughts on PTSD. However, the narrative (or lack thereof) was too obtuse for me to fully engage emotionally. There are parts that will stay with me but I found watching it that I was vacillating between intellectually trying to figure out what was going on/what it means and viscerally reacting to certain moments. I did come up with what I think happened
Joe was molested by his mother and his whole job is a fabrication so that he can feel like he's saving abused kids. He kills his mother and that's why the plot goes off the rails with wild conspiracy after. There's not a lot in the text but I think what little there is supports this. That's why in his job he has a good father figure, and I think the main girl represents how Joe viewed his mother when he was a it's. I was working this out when the director literally had a quick shot showing Joe's mother at the governor's house. I guess if the rest is right then he really kills himself in the diner and the rest of the ending is the conclusion of his suppressed fantasy.
Anyway, it's definitely interesting and worth a watch but not for everybody. I've heard a lot of praise for this film but for me this didn't come close to the heights of 'We Need to Talk About Kevin.'
^ I'll be watching that soon.
At Eternity's Gate (2018)
Initially I found the deliberate create decision to shake the camera all over the place in a manner that suggest the filmmakers were blind drunk and to have no real narrative structure was very off putting. However, Willem Dafoe's spectacular performance as Vincent Van Gogh and the depth of the exploration of the man's creative talents and personal demons is so strong that I was still totally absorbed. The mixture of pain and joy in Dafoe's wrinkled face is overwhelming. Oscar Isaac also does fine work as Paul Gauguin.
The Kid Who Would Be King (2019)
"The once and future king" rises again in modern Britain to save a land that is "broken and leaderless" . Definitely a kid's adventure in the oldskool Spielberg/Goonies type mould, updated for Harry Potter fans. The synth score was terrific blending in epic Orchestral, Prog and English folk flavours. Worth seeing just for the gorgeous prologue which is like the illustrations from old children's story books in motion. Angus Imrie is so charming and funny as Merlin that I can't believe it's his first film, I predict a strong future for this actor! I think kids will love this film.