I really enjoyed 3 Lives. It's a slow moving, feminist psychological thriller about the damage unresolved trauma can cause, about the violent consequences of retribution and about the fundamental question of how to forgive something that can't be forgiven. It's certainly not an easy watch, but in the end I found it rewarding.
The performances of cast and crew are great. Mhairi Calvey's performance definitely stood out to me the most but her co-stars Martin Kaps and Tyron Ricketts are great too. Maja-Celiné Probst's take on the disturbed victim Jo is amazing, especially if you know some of her earlier work. There's a lot of talent!
The performances of Anatole Taubman, Pete Riley and Victor Alfieri as the three kidnappers are spot on. It took me a while to really understand what their role in all this is and why director Juliane Block decided to not make them into the typical villains, but eventually it all made sense.
Here's a general thing about 3 Live: You've got to follow while watching it. I like that in a movie but I'm oldschool that way. I was surprised when I saw the awful ratings and reviews 3 Lives got on IMDB and other places on the internet. I can see how it isn't for everyone, but 1 star reviews, really? Was it really that bad? I watched the movie with a pretty big, diverse group of friends and none of them was that dismissive of it.
My take on it is, if you don't get distracted by haters or by the sensational axe murderer poster that's going around online (There's NO axe murderer in the entire movie and it's NOT your run of the mill action flick! Why? Who would market the film as such?) and if you sit down and engage with the movie, you'll find 3 Lives to be a bold, high-quality independent film with an attitude and a strong message that will make you think.
