Wyrm

Wyrm confesses, "I just don't want to be alone." This is the fear of all adolescents...and heck, most people.

This film is a wonderful peek into the lives of middle-schoolers struggling to connect under the pressures of developing emotions and a limited understanding of world around them. But all done through dark, biting humor and quirky situations. Absent (emotionally and physically) parents, turbulent sibling relationships, cruel hate mail and the added pressure of your first kiss (further complicated by a "Scarlet Letter"-like collar) are all obstructions to navigating the difficult and trying transition to adulthood.

The script is tight, funny and honest. There is no Aaron Sorkin witty dialogue or overly precocious teens...these feel like real middle-schoolers having real conversations and struggling with real problems. Christopher Winterbauer shows he's adept at both directing and writing and proves he has not forgotten the realities of growing up. He doesn't look back through rose-colored glasses or mire us in sappy nostalgia but presents us with an honest and humorous record of a sometimes-painful adolescence.

I rented this on Amazon the other day and it was a very good watch. Perfect for a quiet night in. It hit really good notes of weird/quirky while also having a decent bit of depth and intensity. I came away feeling like it was a sillier style of The Squid and the Whale.

I had no idea who Theo Taplitz was before I watched this, but good grief did he knock this role out of the park! I'm someone who enjoys individual performances more than the actual movies themselves, and he really stood out.

His character is your typical awkward outcast teen, but he brings a veteran-like emotional and sometimes devastating aspect to the character that helps you get inside of his head and relate to what he is going through.

100% recommend for anyone who likes these quirky coming-of-age type movies!

Wyrm (2019) follows an awkward young teen who must complete a school requirement in which students wear electronic collars that detach only upon engaging in their first kiss. Overall, this film is unique and fun to watch. It's fairly entertaining and has some strong performances but I was still left expecting something more.

Something this film does really well is the cinematography, the movie is full of bright and eye-catching colour palettes and interesting camerawork. The framing is also well done and makes every shot fun to look at. Additionally in terms of visuals, I found the editing to be a bit too chaotic at times.

Unfortunately, the sound design is painfully average with very little notable moments. The score itself is definitely fitting to the tone of the film, but is extremely forgettable. The soundtrack is fun though at least!

The characters are well written and the actors mainly give good performances. Each of the characters have their own individual quirks and the actors really bring them to life, they're written in a way similar to those in the likes of Yorgos Lanthimos and Wes Anderson, with unnatural conversations which make for an intriguing watch. Also, the comedy is strange, but sometimes hits well.

Lastly, the film has steady pacing, but unfortunately ends up dragging quite a lot as some scenes go on for way too long. This is a shame as the narrative is very interesting and I respect the artistic flare the filmmakers bring to the movie.

I only gave it two stars for the nice bright colours. I watched this online for about half an hour. Cast it to the TV for a bigger picture. But I just found it utterly boring. Why is the lead character portrayed as a nerd? Is that the director's take on what shy, introverted geeky teenage boys are like? No hunky football player would wear one of the necklets, I assume! Puberty actually starts a lot earlier than the age of the teens in this movie. Nowadays 12-year-old girls are getting their first period, or even earlier. But 12-year-old girls would never have got past the censor. And anyway, what in what century would parents permit schools to attach necklets to their kids of any age? Who on earth would vote for it? Kissing can lead to other things! Is the director just a little perverted here? Seems totally weird to even have the mad idea in the first place. Anyway, after about 30 minutes I was falling asleep with boredom, so I turned it off.

I just finished this move and I was all over the map while watching it. I wasn't sure if I liked it at first and felt my interest waning a few times, but then a joke would land or nugget of character development would be revealed and I was right back in.

The story was a slow unraveling, but my patience was rewarded with a weirdly satisfying conclusion. I'm really glad I stayed with it. I initially wanted more explanations around the kissing collar, but can't decide if more would be better. Turns out that part of it wasn't really as important as I thought it would be.

This movie is really more of a feeling piece than a story, akin to Napoleon Dynamite or Garden State - all are totally different from each other, but they capture a feeling that is hard to describe. I was a middle-schooler and high-schooler in the 90s and this tapped in to that experience, while at the same time being nothing like the 90's.

Visually speaking, Wyrm is stunning. I would watch it again for that alone. The lighting and colors are beautiful and it is filled with rich details that will take multiple rewatches to absorb. The humor is often subtle or deadpan, which I loved, but may not be for everybody. The characters are quirky and well-fleshed out.

The one thing that made me sad, was the way Flor took on a maternal role for Wyrm's family, and yet none of them could be bothered to learn a word of Spanish to understand her better? Given how thoughtful the rest of this movie was in other ways, I can't help but wonder what the intent behind that decision was.

All in all, this is a movie that is definitely worth watching, rewatching, and sharing.