Acidman

Prior to fine rom-com "Meet Cute" Alex Lehmann directed the intimate, weighty yet sluggish dramas "Blue Jay", "Paddleton" & "Acidman". In the latter 20-something Dianna Agron (Alicia Vikander-esque) visits a remote, craggy, forested Oregon coast to try connecting with her estranged, reclusive & possibly mentally ill dad Thomas Haden Church (likeable as ever) who lives alone with his dog 'communicating' with UFOs. Plot-wise Lehmann & Chris Dowling's script is disappointingly thin, but as a dual character study it's rich enough (helped by the great two central performances (especially Agron)) - whether that's enough to entertain most tho is debatable.

Let's get that out of the way so that people don't spend 1.5 hours thinking they will see something Sci-Fi in this move when in fact there is nothing.

There should be a law against mis-labeling movies like this. It's the third movie I've seen that claims to be a Sci-Fi, and I wind being disappointed.

Some dude spending his life in the Oregon woods looking at the night sky for signs of UFO's does not qualify as a Science Fiction movie. This is frustrating and needs to stop.

On other hand, it was a decent drama about a daughter reuniting with her estranged father, which is why I gave it 6/10.

Dear filmmakers, please, please stop mislabeling your movie genres.

Acidman is a wonderful indie Drama/Sci-fi film that has excellent performances from the two lead actors. From the first scene with them together I could see their acting talent in the way they were expressing their character's facial expression's and their body language.

Hayden-Church's character has left end-stage American Capitalism behind where he was an engineer and moved into the damp Oregon wilderness to be alone living in a trailer with his dog Migo while making experimental electronic music and going on night missions to watch UFO's appear in the sky above a nearby resevoir. His daughter has come to check on his well being from back east because she is worried about his well being, and is also dealing with some issues of her own she is reluctant to share with her father. Their interactions look and feel so genuine, the writing of the script is really tight It didn't drag at all with unnecessary plot twists, and the UFO interactions shown in the movie make me believe whoever was involved in hashing out that part of the story had real life experience with the phenomenon. This is a great movie for people 16 and up that enjoy indie flicks.

All Of This: Minimal, Simple, Complex, True, Alienated, Alien, Tender, Low Key, Gentle, Lost, Found, Family, Daughter - Father, Warm, Fragmented, Beautiful, Alone, Search, Spacious, Real, American, Indie, Nature, Natural, Heartfelt, Warm, Caring, Strange, Poignant, Loss, Regret, Connect, Bond, Nevertheless, Despite It All, Quest, Minimal, Simple, Complex, True, Alienated, Alien, Tender, Low Key, Gentle, Lost, Found, Family, Daughter - Father, Warm, Fragmented, Beautiful, Alone, Search, Spacious, Real, American, Indie, Nature, Natural, Heartfelt, Warm, Caring, Strange, Poignant, Loss, Regret, Connect, Bond, Nevertheless, Despite It All, Quest. Love. Love. Love.

Started off ok , then turned into a very slow paced tragedy ! With a very awkward vibe throughout.

We never get to see why the dad was always going into stares , depersonalising- de realising etc . Found it odd , uncomfortable, hated the dog scene , which i found pointless , animal death will always kill a film , why ? Because there are too many animal lovers out here that just do not tolerate it , no matter what it gives to the scene - story line , in this instance gave nothing . He didnt even seem bothered about it .

We also never got to see what the whole sc fi was about ??? Soooo long winded , dissatisfying and strange !

I mean was he mad , did he have psychosis ?

Dementia ? Gah ... frustrating .

2 star for the dog only.