What a fantastic experience. I must admit, going in I wasn't sure where this journey would take me. Would there be twists and turns? Or would this character stew in his isolation for the entire duration. It wasn't long before I realised that this character was actually a vision of myself, stuck in a rut due to this pandemic caused isolation. As the film began to push away from reality, to my surprise, I found myself connecting with the character even more. The film is structured to work as a slow burn, gradually unveiling the deterioration of the lead's mental state. At first I was unsure, but by the time the credits rolled I was fully convinced. I was the Student. And I too realised that "they were never coming home". What a difficult realisation to come to terms with. The fact this hit so hard is in large part to the edit and careful structure, so they must be commended for that. The visuals were where they needed to be to keep the connection with the character, especially during the gym sequence. That must have been a struggle to do, very impressed with the actor. There were some shakes and blurry moments but they did end up actually helping to add to the characters declining mental health. And the underwater scene was gorgeous, with rays of light pushing past the character as he struggled. Such a symbolic moment, really adding to the importance that water plays throughout. I feel making it to the end was an accomplishment, for all the right reasons. The cast and crew managed to take me on quite the journey and I am thankful that they did. It was cathartic in a way, allowing me to reflect on my own challenges of this isolation. What a marvelous way to express the current times.