I must first say that if you liked Fight Club, Twelve Monkeys, or The Cell don't read this review.
Caution: If you want to see this movie, it must be viewed without knowing the entire synopsis (Much like Sixth Sense or Fight Club). However, it is impossible to review this movie without giving away some spoilers, so: If you plan on seeing this movie, do not read any further.
The thing that stands out most in this movie was it's transitions. There wasn't a single wipe, fade to black, or dissolve between the different scenes. There were a few hard cuts, but those were in places that were clearly carefully selected for their jarring effect. Some examples: the next scene first appears reflected in a silver balloon, one characters face is in the exact same place as the next character and the faces morph into one another, A door opens and we walk into the next scene that is in a completely different location. It was brilliant considering the concept behind the movie.
The acting was excellent. Ewan McGregor (Star Wars Episode I,II,III;Transpotting;Big Fish;etc) and Ryan Gosling (The Notebook) star in this psychological thriller where no one is sure what is real.
Ewan plays Sam, a phyciatrist who inherits a patient from a colleague. Ryan plays Henry, the patient (a tortured artist) who confides in Sam that he plans on killing himself on his 21st birthday (3 days away) at midnight because he'd done a "very bad thing." As Sam tries to unravel the mystery of why Henry will do this, where, and how to stop him, some odd things begin happening.
He visits Henry's mother, who is dead according to Henry and the police officer who treats Sam'w wounds that he received from Henry's dog (who was put down when Henry was 7). He is called Henry, confused for Henry, and experiencing major deja-vous!
The largest issues dealt with in this movie are art, death, and reality. Interestingly enough, at the conclusion of the movie, I was not the only person asking the question: "Why was this film made?" (This movie is a film, by the way. It succeeds in being artistic, and causes quite a bit of discussion). So, after discussing the film with Mupflaps and Abraxas we came up with this: It appeared that this movie had been made for no reason. If that were true, then art for no reason is pointless and worthless. But if that were true, then that is the message of the film, which makes it brilliant!
Other common threads of the film were that Henry wanted his suicide to be a piece of art, several characters were concerned with being remembered, and after a while you were never sure of what was real or not.
In the end, everything was satisfactorily explained in a twist that was sufficiently foreshadowed, yet not given away. (The twist did raise a few questions regarding how the story was told but not the overall content) (I don't even have to tell you how it ends!)
Overall, 3.5 stars out of 5. And that's just my opinion.
1 comment:
"It appeared that this movie had been made for no reason. If that were true, then art for no reason is pointless and worthless. But if that were true, then that is the message of the film, which makes it brilliant!"
I think this concept needs to be fleshed out so as to be more clear to readers.
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