8.0/10 on IMDb
72% on Rotten Tomatoes
Chloe's thoughts: Signed, sealed and recommended by Chloe
Watch it if you: Are interested just based on the trailer; Want a thrilling story-within-a-story film
Susan seems to have the perfect life: she is the successful manager of a famous art gallery, she is married to a very handsome man, and together they live in a house that looks like an art gallery itself. Yet one day her ex-husband sends her a manuscript of a novel he's written. The novel is brutal, violent, and terrifying, and it's dedicated to her. As she begins to read the novel, she is forced to re-examine her past with the first man she loved.
I wasn't too sure what to expect with this film, since the trailer did a good job at keeping the plot hidden while still intriguing me, and to be honest it's still a really weird film to try and explain or wrap my head around.
It's not that it was confusing or mind-blowing, it's just that it's a film more focused on themes and messages rather than plot.
This is because the film is actually a story within a story. More specifically, it's a novel within a movie. The novel is actually super interesting, but the main story isn't as interesting.
However, the way that these two are combined through alternating scenes is a really clever way at integrating the two stories together, to show the parallels and contrasts between fiction and reality.
I don't want to elaborate too much on this, but after watching the movie, I'd suggest checking out this spoiler-filled article that explores the ending and major themes of the film.
The performances in this were great, and I was actually quite surprised at the number of familiar faces in here.
Jake Gyllenhaal and Amy Adams star in the lead roles, and while they were about 90% the reason why I watched this film, I have to say it wasn't their movie; it was the two supporting actors that stole the show.
Yup, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Michael Shannon were the best actors in this film! Particularly Aaron Taylor-Johnson; he completely disappeared in his role, and the only thing I could think of was just how far he had come from his Kick-Ass days.
Apart from that there's not much to say since I don't want to spoil things; there's a lot more to explore after you end up finishing the movie, but if you haven't yet, all you can really talk about is the cast and the general premise.
So in the end, this at first appears to be a random film that's about some random thing that's happening, but at the end you realise how the inner novel story is very intrinsically related to the outer main story, and how these both show us different aspects about humanity.
A few side notes:
No comments:
Post a Comment