The Coffee Table

A put-upon husband gets his way for once, and then screws up in the worst way imaginable.

Not a horror, but a black comedy fuelled by the awful unease of having to own up to the unspeakable. It is engaging, but doesn't really amount to much, and the comedy relies on heavy-handed irony and a score that tries to mix a sense of spaghetti western showdown into the mounting dread. Also very heavy on dialogue, which crowds out the need for action.

The central Event is dealt with off-camera, and only referred to afterward through the stains it leaves behind. A secondary Event is thrown in for gratuitous plot complications, but can't really be sustained by the rather plain characters. I thought the chance for dramatic irony was missed in not getting the wife to decide for herself to stay out of the room: "I promised not to become over-attentive, like my mother" - along those lines.

The performances are good, with the psychic pain of the lead character well delivered. And the direction keeps up variety in a tight location.

Overall: notable oddity.

P.s. There is a Jesus theme, but I don't think it informs the story. Maybe I need to think harder.

An older couple who recently had their first child buys a coffee table but not without much argument. The husband pushes through with buying the table he likes, a decision which will change their lives in ways they couldn't have imagined. This film had its moments, disturbing in fact, but the film didn't come through as being well-thought-of. Another big issue was the story being dragged to reach 1 hour and 31 minutes of runtime. It would have been effective as a short.

The positives. The acting was, overall, good. The plot was easy to follow. The filmmakers clearly wanted the viewers to feel uneasy and they were successful in that.

The negatives. Aside from the plot being dragged to a full-length film, there were some questionable behavior here. A character had so much patience in spite of something happening. Another character was unbelievable to be that way and I don't see an objective reason story-wise to have a character like that. I felt like the filmmakers just had a brainstorming session about all the things they find to be disturbing and put it all in a single movie, and I don't think that's the right way to go.

Also, the characters are not likable. The wife, though she makes more sense, wants to have her way all the time. The husband, I'm sorry, was stupid in a lot of things. Another character, I felt was made just for shock value. There's another two characters who were more likable than the leads in my opinion.

Another thing is the genre. Why does it have comedy as one? There's nothing funny in this film. It's not a black comedy either. That's perplexing.

This film could have been a punch if it was a short movie instead and if there were no subplots that didn't add value to the main story. This is not the first film that has "to disturb" as it's first priority, but this one felt like it was made just for that. It was also draggy and I wanted to fast forward to the end. Watch if you want but there are better, more thought-out, disturbing movies than this one.

Not at all what I was expecting. I got the impression from people's remarks when this first hit streaming services that this would be some new trash shocker in a category with films like The Human Centipede and/or A Siberian Film, however it is nothing like that. While both of those films have their share of underlying humor, The Coffee Table is almost entirely almost humorless, and attempts to take one idea and stretch it out into a feature length film.

Unfortunately, a rather creative concept and some admirable acting performances are tainted by a film that's entire second half has virtually no worthwhile elements, and seems to simply draw itself out until it's long enough to be a feature length. The entire second half of the film is nothing but meaningless dialogue between 4 characters that in no way furthers the story, or ups any tension or intrigue - instead it actually slowly diminishes the tension as the runtime progresses, and by the time the finale hits, it is very difficult to actually feel anything for any of the characters. While the characters are relatively realistic archetypes, none of them are especially likable - so there aren't a lot of emotive stakes when the film's chaos ensues.

But, massive flaws aside, I have a bit of respect for The Coffee Table, for its ambition, creativity, and commitment, however it is not a very good movie, and I think it might take it self a bit too seriously. But, who knows, maybe it's someone's true story?

Very unpleasant to watch. Not cause its frightening or shocking or gore/splatter. None of these things. But the accident that happened made the rest of the movie unbearable to watch. Im not sure about the comical parts, doesn't fit well with the rest and it would have worked better without it with more realism and seriousness. But the director probably wanted to light up the movie a little cause the premise is grimm enough. With that saying, for me it felt over the top and silly in some parts, which i didn't like. Compared to hanekes funny games it lacks the suspense and u just want it to be over. So you dont care much what happens after till the reveal happens. I couldn't even focus on their conversations anymore cause i was in such unease the whole time. I can't say if thats good or bad. It really puts you in the situation of the father 1:1, so therefore goal achieved! But its a waste of that very long middle part that you just wanna skip and dont wanna invest watching cause it drags you out that much.

Short review: I've always loved the concept of one small decision changing everything in a massive way. We were actually warned by the director before watching this film not to watch it. I thought to myself, I've seen the worst of the worst, how bad could it be? This isn't a film like 'A Serbian Film' or 'Hostel' that sets out with no purpose other than to shock you as much as possible. But this film will drain you and have you thinking long after the credits roll.

There are a couple of moments of humour in the film, and they are genuinely funny moments, but because of the subject and tone of the film you feel like a monster if you laugh. I can't remember experiencing that before.

This is an emotionally draining film and not one that is designed for everyone to watch. However if you are game I think you will find it both rewarding and memorable. 8/10.