Some Freaks

All in all a good movie. I see very well the heavy points that are being made. It's just that in this film one character clearly outgrew another. And the cute attempt to gloss over that at the end was disappointing to me. But it clearly shows that they drew me into the movie for me to make that statement! Lily Mae Harrington was outstanding.

This movie had such strong potential. The first half of the movie had complex, well-written characters. Beautifully acted too. The main characters were charming and yes, they did not fit the status quo and were victims of realistic bullying.

The second half of the movie took those same characters and made you hate them to the point of no return. The male lead even does something totally unforgivable at one point. The acting was the only saving grace.

This movie could have been inspiring. Instead it left me with a feeling of true disappointment.

I spotted this last night, and, as soon as I saw the synopsis, it immediately caught my attention, so I gave it a try, and wow! It was fantastic!!

I usually hate indie movies or videogames, whether due to the shaky- hand-held camera, or bad lighting/post process, or horrible music, or terrible acting, or poor special effects, they feel "cheap" and I hate that feeling.

This movie, however, felt so professional, so well made, the acting was very solid, the camera was shaky sometimes, but static for the most important scenes; the lighting/places/shooting felt very right to me, and the story was very well written in my honest opinion. The only times when it felt "very indie" to me was when Marin Ireland was on screen, I don't know why, but I didn't like her acting for the most part.

The soundtrack was not bad, but it could have been a lot better.

Perhaps the only thing I didn't like, was the ending, it made me feel like it was rushed, like it didn't have a proper "closure", but perhaps I'm just being biased, it's not bad at all.

Give it a shot if you have the chance, I doubt you will regret it.

Based on his first two films Ian McDonald's a helluva writer. Prior to the superb "Woman Of The Hour" he penned terrific, original 2017 teen drama "Some Freaks". At high-school Thomas Mann & Lily Mae Harrington connect while being outcast by all others (but mutual pal Ely Henry) due to him having lost an eye & her being overweight... things tho get messy when she leaves for college across country. McDonald avoids cliché to tell a rich & authentically ambiguous tale (which'll frustrate some) while btw as director (it's only movie he's directed) he elicits great performances from his cast (also inc Marin Ireland & Lachlan Buchanan). McDonald's def'ly one to watch alright.

The characters were not likable, which is in most cases okay, but it feels this wasn't executed properly because they were also very unbelievable, These are not the kindred and damaged souls you'll connect to, it just a bunch of kids being annoying jerks. Unlikeable characters are fine and can be wonderful when portrayed correctly, but in this case I never felt bad or concerned for either protagonist. Mostly because, one again, the characters weren't buyable. The characters in the film are akin to a general list of high school stereotypes.