What Comes Around

I happened to come across "What Comes Around" on Hulu. Having no idea what it was, I decided to check it out. It had a routine plot (a girl hooks up with a boy who isn't exactly what he seems), but a twist saved it from being a total washout. Even so, it seemed like not much happened in the movie. Not terrible - there were some intense scenes - but an hour later I felt like I hadn't gotten anything out of the movie.

It's probably worth mentioning the nepotism behind the movie: director Amy Redford is Robert's daughter, while star Grace Van Dien is Robert Mitchum's great-granddaughter. Summer Phoenix is the younger sister of River and Joaquin.

An attemp at a shocking thriller unfortunately turns into a lengthy, dull and plain film with plenty of cliches and repetitive tropes. The story itself had a nice simple (although not original) plot twist that sadly got lost in completely ordinary unsophisticated script. I am not saying that to make a good film you need to present an extremely complicated story, but when you do have a simple tale you have to grab the viewer's attention with other elements like a solid script or engaging cinematography and production design - all of which this picture lacks. Yet the biggest downfall (out of many) of What Comes Around is its incredibly weak acting performances. The rising Grace Van Dien (Stranger Things) just could not capture the protagonists's personality believably and her portrayal felt deeply artificial and in some scenes even ridiculous.

There is much to like with this movie. Grace Van Dien and the ever excellent Kyle Gallner are the two best reasons to watch this movie. Both are utterly convincing in their roles.

The direction and the editing, on the the other hand are, well, sub standard, is the polite way to say it. Some shots are dwelt on for too long and some of the scenes feel that they are 'acted' rather than having two people having a real conversation. The other actors are quite awful.

There is a nice little plot twist that comes in about half an hour into the movie that stops it falling into a schmaltzy Hallmark type movie.

Is it worth a watch? Kind of, but with some reservations.

This movie is one of my favorite genres, and I wanted to like it more than I did. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it enough that I don't regret spending 90 minutes watching it, but it could've been better.

Grace Van Dien did a fine job, as did Kyle Gallner. My biggest issue with this film is Summer Phoenix. The whole time she was in scene, it felt as though she was trying too hard to act, like she was in an acting class trying to convey emotion. It didn't feel natural like the others, and therefore it was incredibly distracting and at times, painful to watch. Because of this, the bond between Anna and her mother felt artificial, and it's an important part of the story. This movie definitely suffered because of her, in my opinion.

Other than that, the story was very good, well told, and it kept me tuned in. 6/10.

I never review movies. Most movies are reviewed much better than I feel they should be. The exception would be many comedies that have fallen to critical insult when they were just the right medicine at the right time.

After watching this movie, I felt compelled to say something about it. Perhaps, I had very low expectations for 'What Comes Around.' Whether I did or didn't isn't really important. I know that I disagree significantly with many of the critical reviews posted previously. I think that the average mature, intelligent, viewer will find this movie, interesting and thought-provoking.

Initially, I did question the acting of certain characters in the movie. However, I never disbelieved any of the portrayals when I was watching the movie. My conclusion, is that the writing, directing, acting, were carefully gaged to present a realistic scenario. These decisions work well enough that you dislike some of the characters. I believe this dislike is significant enough that it garnered some of the criticism in the previous reviews.

Yes, I didn't think the mother (Summer Phoenix) acted the way that my mother would or that I might but then again she's in a situation that most of us nor our mothers would have ever found our/their-selves. Clearly, as we learn in the end, her mind works a little differently. Maybe, it was only different during a particular period due to circumstances but we can't be sure.

As for the daughter (Grace Van Dien), she was a little bit goofy and giddy. I even thought that perhaps she was a little too happy for an American teenage girl. However, she has no real worries, no concerns, and she thinks that she is "in love." She is not portrayed as stupid, but I think the Director definitely wants us to see how idealistic, naïve, and ignorant she may be.

In regard to how she dresses... She appears to live in a small town in a mountain community. We can see by her room decor in the movie, that she is definitely an individual who is not following current trends. Her love of classic poetry would indicate that she does not fall into the masses in terms of her preferences, including her fashion sense. I think her costume selections suggest a quirky and intellectual personality for the particular individual that the movie is trying to depict.

As for Eric (Kyle Gallner), the daughter's love interest, WOW! His performance was so real that it transported me back to difficult situations from my own life. The conflict, pain, and heartbreak of his character are portrayed with powerful raw emotions.

If you're expecting a thriller or action movie on the level of something like 'Taken', this movie is not it. If you want to watch a well acted and directed realistic movie with surprises and twists. This is a great choice.