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There was a point during this movie where I leaned over to my wife and told her I had it figured out. I was about 90% correct and it made the rest of the film a little bit more enjoyable. This adaptation of the book with the same title is Kauffman waxing poetic as he introduces us to our two leads with a 20 minute car ride where we have to just listen. He spices things up a bit by shooting it with obtuse camera angles giving off an unsettling vibe, which does intrigue for a bit, but 20 minutes does tend to drag after awhile.
We are then introduced to Jesse Plemons' parents. His bringing his girlfriend over to meet them. She feels uncomfortable because she wants to break up with him and things get even weirder for her as time seems to not be quite right while over at their house. The parents are indeed highlights as Toni Collette pulls off Tilda Swinton like chameleon vibes. She's simply great here and mirrors her performance a bit from Hereditary. David Thewlis is the father and he's just as "odd". These two are welcomed additions to a small film where most of the interesting action takes place within their language.
We notice that small details change often, how they met, where she lives, her school and career interests. Why? As we dig deeper into unravelling the mystery it all begins to make sense for those paying attention and confuse others that expected a more traditional horror story. I'd hesitate calling this horror, but it does have an eerie sense of dread lingering over every frame.
By the end, you might think to yourself you wasted your time. You might think Kauffman is simply making it weird for the sake of being weird and having fans of the film call you dumb for "not getting it". By the end I felt...underwhelmed. Elements are there, but the pieces never really fit perfectly to create an clear picture of entertainment or thought provoking think pieces. It's a well crafted film, with great performances and a story you either get, or don't.
Oct 8th
I'm Thinking of Ending Things
I'm Thinking of Ending Things
There was a point during this movie where I leaned over to my wife and told her I had it figured out. I was about 90% correct and it made the rest of the film a little bit more enjoyable. This adaptation of the book with the same title is Kauffman waxing poetic as he introduces us to our two leads with a 20 minute car ride where we have to just listen. He spices things up a bit by shooting it with obtuse camera angles giving off an unsettling vibe, which does intrigue for a bit, but 20 minutes does tend to drag after awhile.
We are then introduced to Jesse Plemons' parents. His bringing his girlfriend over to meet them. She feels uncomfortable because she wants to break up with him and things get even weirder for her as time seems to not be quite right while over at their house. The parents are indeed highlights as Toni Collette pulls off Tilda Swinton like chameleon vibes. She's simply great here and mirrors her performance a bit from Hereditary. David Thewlis is the father and he's just as "odd". These two are welcomed additions to a small film where most of the interesting action takes place within their language.
We notice that small details change often, how they met, where she lives, her school and career interests. Why? As we dig deeper into unravelling the mystery it all begins to make sense for those paying attention and confuse others that expected a more traditional horror story. I'd hesitate calling this horror, but it does have an eerie sense of dread lingering over every frame.
By the end, you might think to yourself you wasted your time. You might think Kauffman is simply making it weird for the sake of being weird and having fans of the film call you dumb for "not getting it". By the end I felt...underwhelmed. Elements are there, but the pieces never really fit perfectly to create an clear picture of entertainment or thought provoking think pieces. It's a well crafted film, with great performances and a story you either get, or don't.