Okay's Thoughts on Okay Films

I'm just gonna come right out and say it, "Tenebre" was absolute rubbish from beginning to end, and to be frank, I don't even care enough to waste my time writing about it, so I'll make this brief. The movie is filled with idiocy and inconsistencies, to the point of me getting bored by all of the stupidity, just 30 minutes into its runtime. The film also doesn't work as a mindless gorefest, when all of the practical effects can't even hold up nowadays, so they are left looking pretty dumb. Oh and the acting is bad too.

The only compliments I can give the movie are, it being shot competently, and the score effectively working a few times. Other than that, it's a pure waste of time. I'm not giving up on Argento though, I currently have "Deep Red" ready to be seen, and I already have watched "Suspiria" when I was very young, but I think I need to revisit it, so it's only a matter of time before I get to them both.

⭐1/2

Sean Baker is a director who was only known to me as, that guy who made a film with an iPhone 5s, and with "The Florida Project", he definitely proves to be way more than just that. I seriously didn't expect such aesthetically pleasing shots from the same film-maker of "Tangerine". The composition of each scene is meticulous, and the colour schemes compliment the trashy atmosphere of the film in a juxtaposing way. Overall, there's nothing to be said about the cinematography, other than how impressive it is.

As for the story, it is just as powerful as the technical aspects of the movie. I cared so much about the presented characters, despite their flaws and disgusting behaviour. I wanted them to succeed, to stay happy, hell to even continue on with their wretched lifestyle, if that meant them remaining joyful. The last time I felt strongly about characters in a film was almost a year go, while watching "Mommy" (Though, I'm not saying they were as strong as the characters of Dolan's masterpiece). The acting was fantastic, from Willem Dafoe to all of the children, which is totally surprising since most kids tend to be garbage actors.

The only major issue I have, is the last 15 to 20 seconds of the film. I get what Sean Baker was going for, but it was executed terribly. Not only was the abrupt change to the iPhone style an awful decision (I do understand he had little to no choice), but the accompanying soundtrack of these final seconds was genuinely awful as well. It was pretty sad seeing such a bad conclusion to such a great movie.

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