Caught by the Tides is like nothing you’ve seen. On paper, there’s similarity, after all it is a yearning love story told over a long period of time. This kind of story, of the arc of a relationship positioned over a backdrop of social change, is hardly original. The execution, though, and the very form of this film is utterly unique.
The huge caveat is that this film is really only for those already enamoured with the…
There’s a directness to Whitehead’s novel. His prose feels specific and often declarative. Ultimately, it’s a story about reporting the facts and revealing truths, and there’s a journalistic rigour to the way the words convey this. Though RaMell Ross’ adaptation leans further into something experiential, this essence of the material is still retained. There are now these poetic, Malickean compositions but the rhythm of the edit is so precise. Each image becomes a denotative block, speaking with clarity and purpose. …
The title refers to areas that are off limits. When you’re a spy, and you’re talking with other spies, a lot of areas are no go zones. Those areas are ‘black bag’. Where are you going tomorrow? Black bag. Why won’t you be home for dinner? Black bag. Why are you spending so much time with that other person at work? Black bag. Soderberg’s film, written by David Koepp, is a paranoid espionage movie but it’s really about relationships, how…
Really, this is a film about a man whose wife is the most interesting thing about him. Unfortunately, said wife spends the entire movie in a coma and therefore we are left with the dude instead.
It's affirming, journey of self discovery stuff that thinks it has a bit of bite and a grasp on bittersweet. Really, it just doesn't have a good grasp on character, balancing the players poorly and not finding an overly involving narrative to group them…
Soren Kirkergaard wrote that 'life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards'. Aftersun is an impressionistic portrait of this truism, an intricate web of framing devices that comes across as effortless.
In fact, describing Aftersun makes it sound so much more complicated than it is. The film presents three narrative perspectives, all adopting the lens of Sophie (Frankie Corio), the daughter of Calum (Paul Mescal) (the father and daughter relationship that the film entirely revolves around).…
I like to think that if this was released now, it would be torn apart by audiences, rather than just a few critics. I like to think it would be roundly rejected and would inspire frequent think pieces that were also full of recommendations of what you should watch instead.
But then I remember Green Book won best picture and that this film’s overt popularity is because it gives the people what they want. It gives them the stereotype of…