Suspension of Disbelief

15 September 2013 / by Bart (Amsterdam/Holland)

Nothing Personal but so far I find the rating of this film rather low. The cause may be that it requires some effort and a tiny bit of insight from the viewer. On top of that: this is an independent production and it is no straight 'Thriller'. Mike Figgis even provides us with a manual right from the start. Martin (Sebastian Koch) is a socialite screenwriter and teacher who gets intrigued by a beautiful French woman (Lotte Verbeek) gone missing in London. But she's part of an identical twin … So here we are right on the spot: 'Suspension of Disbelief'. Although presented as a thriller, the film heavily leans on the insights of Carl Jung. The wary film noir interludes and erotic touches to this film are cleverly shot and edited as they precisely fit this theme (and the sheer beauty of my fellow citizen). The average viewer will find this movie fairly enjoyable, great Leads, good script and pitch perfect music (Jazzy Figgis, Wagner, Radiohead). But no real sex, no fast pace and a strange, confusing end. The lives of others however will be mesmerized by the gradually emerging different realities and the big question mark at the end.

I have to admit, that the original title is better than the German translation (which I translated back to English). We get a German actor here who is quite convincing in being ... well quite hard to decipher. Then again, we also have a story of others trying to deceive - but to what end and with what purpose? If there is one ... and who can we trust? Things that get layed out here.

And then we have the movie within a movie - which adds another layer to it. Which you'll either appreciate or not while watching this. Just do not expect this to be an erotic highlight or whatever you may read into this ... it is sizzling at times, but it is more teasing than actually pleasing ... that rhymes sort of! Nice. So you got the information, now you can decide if this is for you or not.

For the ones who think they never heard of the director Mike Figgis, I will remind you of "Leaving Las Vegas". Yes that director!

I have been a fan of Mike Figgis since 1988 when he wrote and directed Stormy Monday and I really enjoyed Liebestraum and The Loss of Sexual Innocence. Not all his movies are "Hollywood" type like Leaving Las Vegas and it takes an acquired taste and thinking outside the box to appreciate some of his work.

Suspension of Disbelief is one that's not for the people who like straight forward movie. It's a story of a man who writes movie scenarios and happens to write one that involves us with this movie ("Participation Mystique") because he is writing the scenario for the movie we are watching and Mr. Mike Figgis does an excellent job with this concept.

The story takes us to different parts of this man's life, such as the world of his daughter who, within this movie, is a starting actress in another movie; the fact that there is a death (murder or accident?) which involves few people, and so on … (I don't want to spoil it for you). This movie takes you in different directions and still revolves around the same characters.

I personally enjoyed it because it's really close to what life is all about: A lot of things are happening at the same time and you don't know which one is the most important until you think about your personal life and understand that all of them are important. Your day to day life is not just a story within the same theme. After all, you are the story of your life!

If you expect a packaged ending to this movie, you will be disappointed but if you understand that you are the continuity to this film and understand that you, through your thinking, are supposed to draw your own conclusions for an ending, it will leave you interested even when the movie is over.

It's just totally unbelievable that Mike Figgis, an Oscar nominated and celebrated director made this movie. Everything is wrong. The acting is on an amateur level, the cinematography likewise. A lot of stupid ideas, all done in a most hopeless manner. The music used is of the lowest quality, and never used in a good way. The story is almost non- existent and the characters are shallow and absolutely not believable at all.

It looks like some sort of rejected film school project. An absolute snoozefest, and one of, if not THE worst movie I've ever seen. Shame on the people behind this.

I saw this during a screening in Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester Square. I will confess that I don't normally watch independent movies and have no idea about the director's previous work. I wasn't expecting much. The shots, lighting and environment were pretty good, the editing was good too. Considering the limited budget and that they made this movie in 22 days I think the movie is pretty good. But having said that if I judge this movie neutrally I would say it's an average plus. The plot resolves around a death of a pretty (and lost?) girl. The whole plot resolves around this and sometimes becomes too boring and lagging. The director has tried hard to make this like an art movie but sometimes the artistic expressions don't make any sense. There is some nudity and sex in the movie but they are neither erotic, not do their presence contribute to the movie in any way so I don't see the point of having those. It feels like they just wanted some skin in the movie. Still the movie is enjoyable. The major complain I have about this movie is that it does not give you a satisfactory ending or a proper ending with answers. I really dislike open ended movies that leave the conclusion to the viewers and if you are like me you will not like the ending too.