Reviews

The way it switches between 1974 and 1999 and at just the right times as well as its obvious, but not too obvious time period identifiers like the costumes and Esposito's hair color is on par with how the first and third seasons of True Detective do this.

The filmmakers likely did not have the means that those of recent sci-fi movies like Interstellar or The Martian had at their disposal, but I don't think that's the problem because I would have more to compliment about the presentations of sci-fi movies with even smaller budgets.

The movie could be described as a boxing movie, especially since the matches look so good.

This irony permeates the movie, most notably in its visuals, which may be the most pleasant to look at in any movie ever made.

In short, there is a lot to respect about how the movie portrays the long-term effects of torture, but there are other movies that do this that I would rank above it like Paul Schrader's Affliction.

Speaking of that scythe, which appropriately graces the movie's HBO Max thumbnail, the movie demonstrates director Dreyer's talent for letting images speak volumes.

As you can imagine, this movie is hard to watch at times and I doubt that I'll ever watch it again.

With its voiceover narration and fourth wall breaks that it shares with those other movies, I figured I would be in for more irony and snark, but I instead got a movie that very much has its heart on its sleeve.

To be fair, I'm a proponent of strong first acts in general, but I think the impact of the movie's most impactful moments would be much duller if the movie only showed us the wedding's highlights and/or gave us a montage.

This structure is successful in other movies like Falling Down, but that movie really only has to flesh out Michael Douglas and Robert Duvall's characters.