ultra_kid

On the whole I preferred this more that the prequel Open Water (I know Adrift was the unofficial sequel, but you know what I mean). I hated Open Water. The two protagonists were unpleasant and, for me, the film lacked the suspense and terror people would have you believe.

Adrift, however, had more potential, with more characters, albeit not much more likable, and even a baby. The first hour or so was almost edge of your seat stuff, with the true horror of their desperate situation being depicted perfectly. However, once I'd got used to the fact that they were in the water and there was little hope of them getting back aboard, I lost interest and it all became a bit tedious. Putting horribly shallow individuals in deep water (nice) with little chance of salvation results in a complete lack of viewer sympathy, which ultimately impacts the movie experience. Furthermore, a needlessly ambiguous and nonsensical ending added frustration into the mix.

Whilst overrated, Dollhouse was good, Happiness was fantastic, Storytelling was somewhere between the two. Pallindromes, however, is, without question, the weakest of the bunch. It's true to say there are some good moments, particularly those of the dark humour synonymous with Solondz, but on the whole I found the experience to be incredibly weird and creepy. The drawn out section with Mama Sunshine and the gang was horrible; my skin was crawling the whole time. The awkward scenes with Aviva and the suitors to the father of her unborn child made me wince. While his previous films were shocking, they were compelling, innovative and plausible. Pallindromes was pure fantasy played out in a vile and putrid parallel universe. Think David Lynch doing an American Beauty.