Chained for Life
- 2018
- 1h 31m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
1.1K
YOUR RATING
A beautiful actress struggles to connect with her disfigured co-star on the set of a European auteur's English-language debut.A beautiful actress struggles to connect with her disfigured co-star on the set of a European auteur's English-language debut.A beautiful actress struggles to connect with her disfigured co-star on the set of a European auteur's English-language debut.
- Awards
- 5 wins & 7 nominations total
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
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All I can say is Jess Wexler is an absolute revelation. I was so lucky to catch this at NOLAFF and I was blown away. If you have no idea what the film is about please just just take my advice and give it a chance you will not regret it!
The uniqueness of normality. The beauty of authenticity. The illusiveness of abnormality. The uncomfortable act of being seen. The ugly act of being ignored. The horror of theatricality. The truth of fiction. The monstrous clarity of objectification. The innate naturalism of aberration.
The least democratic thing in our society is how attractive others find us.
This movie is a subtly unfolding, intentionally clumsily-forged, plasticine act of dreamlike kindnesses and social inhumanity.
The mostly unseen Herr Director of the movie-within-the-movie, Warner Herzog-esque in his rhetoric but Uwe Bollian in his craft, is a huge delight. And Jess Weixler does her best young Drew Barrymore at first, but arcs towards being herself as the film unclenches in its formalism.
I also like how this movie opens by highlighting one of the multitude of ridiculous Ayn Randian comments that hack Pauline Kael slung in the name of film criticism.
The least democratic thing in our society is how attractive others find us.
This movie is a subtly unfolding, intentionally clumsily-forged, plasticine act of dreamlike kindnesses and social inhumanity.
The mostly unseen Herr Director of the movie-within-the-movie, Warner Herzog-esque in his rhetoric but Uwe Bollian in his craft, is a huge delight. And Jess Weixler does her best young Drew Barrymore at first, but arcs towards being herself as the film unclenches in its formalism.
I also like how this movie opens by highlighting one of the multitude of ridiculous Ayn Randian comments that hack Pauline Kael slung in the name of film criticism.
A unique film that acts to comment and critique the audiences biases. Technically speaking the film is excellent, with unique shots that fulfill a larger purpose. They didn't film a scene a specific way because it looked good, but because it fit the narrative, or was trying to make the audience as uncomfortable as the actors.
The story is simple and i was there was more meat on the bone, at points it felt like it drifted off focus, and the conclusion felt rushed and underdeveloped. Ultimately the film acts to break down and critique how "abnormal" people are viewed by society and treated in the film industry. It does an excellent job directing this message to the audience, if you pay attention you will understand what the director is saying about our behaviour towards the "abnormal".
Unfortunately i think the movie was held back by some unconvincing performances by Jess Weixler and Stephen Plunkett. Their dialogue felt unnatural and as if they were reading directly off a script. Every other actor did a fine job, especially Adam Pearson, who delivered a stunningly charged performance during a car scene in particular (no spoiler).
I would recommend this film to anyone interested , it could challenge your world view.
The story is simple and i was there was more meat on the bone, at points it felt like it drifted off focus, and the conclusion felt rushed and underdeveloped. Ultimately the film acts to break down and critique how "abnormal" people are viewed by society and treated in the film industry. It does an excellent job directing this message to the audience, if you pay attention you will understand what the director is saying about our behaviour towards the "abnormal".
Unfortunately i think the movie was held back by some unconvincing performances by Jess Weixler and Stephen Plunkett. Their dialogue felt unnatural and as if they were reading directly off a script. Every other actor did a fine job, especially Adam Pearson, who delivered a stunningly charged performance during a car scene in particular (no spoiler).
I would recommend this film to anyone interested , it could challenge your world view.
Besides the tremendous performance from Jess Weixler this film is absolutely atrocious. It was all over the place and made no sense whatsoever. I was completely lost and had no idea what was going on the entire film. I still don't know what the hell I just watched. Would not recommend.
This must have been an immensely enjoyable film to make, once they'd worked out what piece of cinema or film they were actually trying to conjure - a little bit all over the place, to say the least, but as original a proposition as you've likely encountered for some time - with the main premise established on cultural prejudice and discrimination to difference. It uses those who lack the symmetry of societal expectations of beauty, by several standard deviations in this case, to reaffirm that differences are only skin deep but those physical attributes are shackled to the individuals psychology, as well as societal norms, whose end result is to imprison them without bars for most, if not all of their lives - akin to living in an open prison or asylum for a crime or crimes you didn't commit.
Did you know
- TriviaCharlie Korsmo's first acting part in twenty years since Can't Hardly Wait (1998). He received his undergraduate degree in physics from MIT in 2000, and his JD (law degree) from Yale in 2006; as of 2024 he is a professor at the Case Western Reserve University School of Law. His only other acting role subsequent to this was in 2024's A Different Man, also directed by Aaron Schimberg and starring Adam Pearson.
- ConnectionsReferences Freaks (1932)
- SoundtracksThe Rest Is Advertising (Harp Prologue)
Written by Nora Linde & Aaron Schimberg
Performed by Nora Linde
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Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $17,431
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $7,415
- Sep 15, 2019
- Gross worldwide
- $17,431
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