Luna

A thriller with a plot and pacing and denouement that feel justified what might have been stupid errors of judgement by the heroine by placing her squarely in the mistake laden terrains of youth and trauma. Hope to see more of Lisa Vicari and Carlo Lowber. Felt good to have it be about something significant as well in an age that seems prone to an obeisance to authority.

Now there is more to it of course and you can enjoy this if you just don't mind all the wrong things our main character does. And believe that there is a bad guy with a heart. You can let yourself go and enjoy this for what it is. And it works most of the time, tension building and all that. And then it comes around cripples itself with the wagging finger and its morality.

It's almost a shame, but the high moral ground and its somewhat rose tinted view on things especially towards the ending, almost destroy all the fun one can have. The ending itself is also something that some might cherish and others will hate. I'll leave that up to you. Again, if you still can manage to bear with it ... good for you and your enjoyment of the movie

If you can bear these kinds of movies where the main character does every mistake (s)he should not do, enjoy yourself. Otherwise I suggest you don't lose time. It looks like those horror movies where the tension fails to rise because of the stupidity of the hero(in) who does what nobody would have done in the same situation. The decisions and behaviour of the heroin are amazing and often enerving. I can't appreciate her. I don't know if it's because of the script or because it is bad acting, but even when she shows strong emotions I stay cold and unsympathetic, and I'm impatient she comes back to normal.

On the one hand, while details of the plot come out in lines of dialogue, the scene writing so heavily deemphasizes dialogue generally that one could feasibly enjoy the picture without full comprehension of the words being spoken. (Say, if the film were incompletely dubbed and subtitled.) On the other hand, being able to watch the movie without a full set of tools also suggests the thrust of the title is somewhat common and unexceptional. A cynic (me) might say that we've seen this movie before, and we'll see it again. This is no especial mark against it, mind you; how many other features could we describe in the same way? And it's well made and entertaining on its own merits. Only, one glance at a basic premise and you know exactly what you're getting into. 'Luna,' also known as 'Luna's revenge,' is a suitable thriller, though it won't necessarily stand out in a crowd.

Young Lisa Vicari is a fine actress, and as the titular character we see her demonstrate some of the range, poise, and strength of personality that would help her to be one of the breakout stars of Netflix's original series 'Dark' a couple years after this. Carlo Ljubek, as primary supporting character Hamid, commands a subtle dark presence that lets his role serve as an anchor against the more volatile protagonist. However, it should be said that there's a bit of a discrepancy in the writing: Luna is centered as the chief figure in the narrative, and gets the most time on screen, yet Hamid plays a more active role in the course of events than she does. This would be even more of a standard thriller if it were called 'Hamid' instead of 'Luna'; alternatively, if the duo's relationship were written as more of an equal partnership - or if Hamid's role were still smaller - the film would have had greater opportunity to flourish. A little more care in development of the characters and narrative would have gone a long way.

Still, the scene writing is very strong, offering thrills, emotional beats, a few rather jolting moments, and some very solid plot ideas. 'Luna' is very well made from a technical standpoint, with excellent direction and cinematography. The ending feels a little gauche for the fact of how much use that approach to story resolution has been getting in movies in the past several years, but it's still duly satisfying. Even having noted Vicari in particular, there's no one specific aspect of this picture to leap to one's attention - but when all is said and done, it's entertaining, and that above all is what the movie hoped to achieve. You don't need to go out of your way to see this, but if you happen to come across it, it's a fair way to pass 90 minutes. Enter with the recognition that you'll recognize some of 'Luna's' story beats in its brethren, and it's easy enough to just kick back and relax.