"Hogg's disinterested agglomeration of realism and gradualism is not novel (many an auteur flourishes on various soils with similar felicity, like Hong Sang-soo, Kelly Reichardt, whose names are just off the top of my head), but it is practical in terms of filmmaking, the camera is static, settings are simple, score-free, no extra-lighting needed, even during nighttime, it has a point-and-shoot expediency of a cottage industry. Distilling human activities exclusively through her rigid frame, both films reveal truth with a clinical discernment. Anna's step-by-step abandon meets with a cavalier response, Oakley is a tease, he knows how to titillate the opposite sex and will not let Anna off his hook before she capitulates, then, to her utter chagrin, he walks away like a champion, and naturally this chapter is closed, Oakley hones his skill of enchantment, but Anna receives a blow to her already distressed middle-age crisis, casual cruelty is blithely exposed. Then, you might not sympathize with Anna, because she is blinded by vanity and obviously operates against her best judgement, also Hogg really foregrounds a 24-year-old Hiddleston's hedonistic youthfulness (even the camera forgoes its immobility trying to catch his exuberance and Adonis gorgeousness), and it is always takes two to tango, at her mature age, Anna should've known better."
read my full review on my blog: Cinema Omnivore, thanks.
