Sweet, Sweet Lonely Girl

There is something here. Something that is not fully explored, but there is also hints and nods to classic horror movies. Like haunted house ones or ones with weird unknown old people in the same house the protagonist is in. Or are they really there? Or even better: who are they? Do we get to see that person? Not here, because the aunt who is helped by her niece here, does not like anyone to enter her room. Or do stuff in that large house of hers.

You could re-watch this and probably find things you didn't notice the first time around. Or at least see them in a different light. Then again you may already see a couple of things, especially if you are film savvy, the first time around. As stated above the potential is there, but it's not always fully explored. And I don't just mean tone-wise or in the form of getting rid of shells/clothes to bare something deep skinned. The movie does seem to play it safe in certain areas and yet there is a lot of subtext. There is a lot of things that you can interpret however you see fit ... What will it be?

I know this is a period piece, set in the 1980's. I realize it is well shot. The vibe is retro and eerie. However, the plot makes no sense. Character motives are devoid of logic. The ending makes no sense. It is as if there are fifteen minutes of important exposition missing from the cut I saw. Bad film!

We are never given answers. The ending seems both forced and hackneyed. There is absolutely nothing explained nor even hinted at. If you are going to tell me there are clues and there are answers hidden, and I would see them if I watched the film again, you will have missed the entire point of my review.

Lonely Adele moves in with her agoraphobic aunt to take care of her and get some money for her family and meets a free-spirited peer who leads her down a dark path.

Those uninterested in slow paced character studies would be wise to swipe Sweet, Sweet Lonely Girl off their watch list immediately. Even those who enjoy such films might find parts of the journey interesting even when the destination isn't much to write home about. Performances are mostly decent to fairly good and the film is beautifully shot, evoking a 70's/early 80's mood right from the start. There are moments when the film could sit comfortably alongside the likes of Let's Scare Jessica To Death, The Nesting, or even the more recent House of the Devil. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to know how to end in a satisfying fashion and all that great mood and build up feels like it was all for naught.

This atmospheric gem is comparable to the same-year film The Caretaker. Both are great bookends for scary-old-lady films made famous at first by Bette Davis. Creepy, artsy, with some sexual scenes but no nudity. No ghosts either.

This is gorgeously reminiscent of the art-house horror of the 70s, and everything from the camera work to the sound track was just perfect.

Well acted, well-filmed, and well-edited, and definitely worth a watch, but the film consistently made promises it couldn't keep. The ending is rushed, and while the conclusion was semi-satisfying, the path there was ragged. There were great evocative, repetitive images that never even got a nod as far as anything that could give them depth or meaning. And the jump from "here" to "there" was just a little bit TOO art-house, leaving far more questions than were required.

It seems that filmmakers are so afraid of dumbing down plot points that they leave them too abstract in an effort to be more arty or erudite. I think this film could have further explored some of the basic premises without risking its artistic integrity. And the jump to the final setup could definitely used a longer bridge. Instead of being left with the haunted feeling they were trying so hard to evoke, I was left a bit disappointed and hollow. I think it would have been less disappointing if the foundation hadn't been so well done. A bad film is almost easier to watch than a "should have been" film.

This is worth the watch for style alone. Just don't expect as much substance or depth as the opening seems to promise.