Jessica Forever

I was excited by the 'reverse lost boys' premise of this film. Ultimately, though, the film aims high but definitely isn't able to pull it off. It is true that sometimes 'less is more', but JF provides zero reasoning for why the characters are in the situation we find them in, and no hints about WHY this should be a secret. Ultimately, a lot of posturing but very little substance.

One star for a very cute kitten.

To start off, I'm not sure exactly why Shudder acquired rights to this film. It's not horror, nor is it something that they'd usually push on their platform, especially as a "Shudder Original". At any rate, this movie is very... French. Super experimental, super weird, and super unrewarding.

The whole premise is supposed to be a dystopian world (which is not at all dystopian, but more like a late 2010s world where absolutely nothing has changed) where these misfit orphans rule the world and "take back what is rightfully theirs" (which never happens at all outside of dialogue). This is an intriguing enough story, and there are so many scenes in this movie that should have enriched it, but with all of the scenes and all of the characters, so little happens. In fact, you could argue that nothing at all happens.

And what does happen include some very weird things including but not limited to: letters on a birthday cake floating around, a dead sister reanimating to play a video game with her brother, a gun floating around a bedroom and speaking through another character, blood randomly covering someone, and someone lighting themselves on fire. And the list goes on.

Now, the writing isn't in itself terrible, but it's just a plot that is severely underutilized and does nothing in the way of storytelling. So maybe the whole point of the film was to show the inherent beauty of meaninglessness and the struggle of being alone, but I personally think that, A) if that was the point, it was done poorly, and B) stories like that aren't always great or enjoyable.

I do like an experimental film here and there, but this one was too grounded in reality for the absurdity to feel like any more than distraction and wasted potential.

Don't be fooled by the cover, which boasts a more impressive color palette than this entire "movie." Beyond an interesting open, things quickly self-immolate after some drones show up.

People walk, people talk, people go to the mall, people do some drugs, people break and make some chandeliers, and a girl gets eaten out. Honestly, that is all that happens post-drones.

Take a hint from this and keep some gasoline ready for self-immolation, you'll likely be needing it if you give this a shot. At the very least, keep that 15 second FF button handy.

Some weeks ago someone told me that there're director's that were made to create amazing music videos, but the ended up doing movies by some reason.

I think that's exactly what happened: a bunch of really well done and beautiful photography (charged with meaning) but with a very poor script and character development.

Sadly, the main idea seems good but is poorly developed and you finish the movie with an underwhelming feeling that you watched...nothing?

I get that experimental films are more focused on little details, on specific frames and photography (already said that), but this is not good at all.

This would've been an amazing music video, but as a movie...i don't know.

In a parallel universe of the not so distant future a lone young woman, Jessica, leads a band of male orphans rejected by the outside world for their violent tendencies. Her influence calms their will to create mayhem. Without Jessica these misfits are easy prey to the security forces who wish to eliminate them. Together they form a strike force protecting similarity situated male youth. With Jessica there is no blame, and all are free to leave. She searches for ways that the orphans can be happy again. "Bad things don't last forever," Jessica declares "we have to stop them from happening." Yet when one of the more vulnerable members of the group is killed, even Jessica struggles to contain their rage.

This original and refreshingly independent film contains attractive scenery, characters and actors, and wonderful ideas. Departed relatives reappear to talk to the living, there are night swims in the moonlight and the landscape seems to come alive to protect its residents. Given a better budget, organization and acting talent, this film could go somewhere. World premiere seen at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival.