grantarp

The movie is entertaining and I guess that's the core purpose of a movie at the end of the day, so on that it succeeds, but it's also very far-fetched as a concept and requires a fair amount of suspension of disbelief. I mean, Satanic rituals involving the cutting of hair being able to control peoples' actions and all that. Yeah, right. On that level, this movie has a strong undertone of religious belief which I didn't necessarily vibe with. I think you would have to be a deeply religious and superstitious person to believe that any of this type of stuff can happen in real life. But putting that aside, the movie can be regarded as far-fetched entertainment. This trope is something we've seen various times before e.g. "Bring Her Back", "Hereditary", "Longlegs", "The Exorcist" and whatnot, so it is a bit tired at this point. And I wouldn't say it's a "plothole" per se, but except for the most rural communities, the majority of small and medium-sized towns across the US have at least some basic security camera setup in various public places. The fact that the cops weren't able to find any security camera footage of these kids running across town is a bit unbelievable.

The interlocking stories coming together piece by piece reminds of "Pulp Fiction" and is done well. And there are certainly some good performances here; Amy Madigan is undeniably unsettling. Brolin is decent. But overall, I do prefer stories that are a bit more grounded in reality.

Well, when there is death of a loved one, we don't want that to be a permanent loss. Each main character here carries a kind of loss with them. Human nature compels us to maintain hope; hope that there could be something more, eventually. Perhaps not a replacement of that person, exactly, but a kind of consolation. That's essentially what this movie is about, I feel, and each character searches for this consolation in their own, sometimes weird, ways. I can appreciate the humanity at work here.

Where the movie is lacking, for me, is Jeremy's backstory. Oddly, even though the movie is centred on Jeremy, we never really learn THAT much about him. On a practical level: how is he able to be unemployed for so long? On a deeper level: why is he doing what he is doing, exactly? Why is he behaving in this clingy way, never wanting to leave this house? Why did he love his former boss; how did that strong connection come to be? These questions are never really answered because there is little context/background here.

Also... do cops not need warrants in France? I'm no expert on the French legal system but it stretched believability for me that cops can just barge into a house like that, displaying no warrant, to interrogate Jeremy. Odd. But there are quite a few odd things in this odd little film. I don't necessarily mind that.

It is ambitious and has some beautiful sequences, especially the opening sequence with the Statue of Liberty shot. Brody, as usual, is strong. The score is also strong. The movie has an epic sweep to it but also, I would say, some unnecessary scenes here and there. I didn't think all the sex scenes were necessary, or at least I thought they were too drawn out, and various other interstitial shots that felt excessive. I didn't like Pearce's performance so much. Although he's playing an unlikable character, true, there's just an artificiality about his delivery and mannerisms that I didn't like here.

The epilogue of the movie ends a little flat and on an odd note. It's just one of those "weird" endings, imo, but that's pretty typical for an a24 movie. I cared about Brody's character, but where did he REALLY go, in the end? Ask yourself that. He gets lost a bit, for me, with all the other side narratives and architectural explorations going on, and then it just kind of ends.

Thematically, the movie reflects the tension between artistry and capitalism well. Is it overlong? Yes, but the intermission dampens the impact of that. Would I want to see it again? No.