mrubio16

What I liked the most about this film is the way the central situation is explored through many different characters' experiences. We often see movies in which different characters have their own specific and distinct journey that end up colliding in the end, but in this film every character is living the exact same story and each development impacts the other that impacts the other and so on. The script crafts this prism of the plot in a very efficient way, whether you like or dislike certain segments, it's undeniable that they complete each other very well. Like I said, the plot is very intriguing, it really is the type of film that just grabs your attention and doesn't let go. Every character is well acted but the standouts are definitely Julia Garner and Josh Brolin who give very powerful performances, particularly Garner whose character goes through A LOT of challenging situations during the film. The director anchored the film in the characters and it just worked out fine. He was also able to conduct many memorable scenes, the opening was simply fantastic and there are two jumpscares in the first act that got me real good. And I can understand certain complaints about the film's "tonal shift" and I totally can understand that, but in my opinion, it felt natural and organic, considering what the script was going for. Tragicomic is the best word to describe it, I believe. Although I do feel like the movie was a bit exhausting at times, certain scenes and sequences were a bit stretched out. But still overall a very solid experience that proved horror films can still be actually good works of art and not just guilty pleasure or niche.

Alexander Payne is a curious director. He's respected and awarded like few others, but he's also not as popular or worshipped as others. His film credits include critically acclaimed movies and completely forgettable ones, giving the impression he only appears occasionally-something that's not entirely true, but not far from the truth. Like this first paragraph, he's exotic and contradictory. He enjoys exploring exotic characters and their connections as much as he enjoys mocking contemporary America, and here we have his most thought-provoking work.

Being a teacher is complex. Many students will hate you, either because your subject matter is boring, or because you don't make things easy for them, or for any other reason they can find, but in essence, it's about more than just discipline or academic content: it's about sharing experiences. In the film, we have a teacher who insists on antagonizing his students, and a special student who, despite not being as consistent or valuing learning as he should, remains a very bright young man. The first scene the two characters share together clearly demonstrates that greater clashes are to come between them. They're trapped together and from that moment on, they end up complementing each other in a way, like a classic dysfunctional family, but the connections between Angus and Mr. Hunham are intrinsically stronger: They are both much more alike than they'd like to admit, both in terms of intelligence and personalities, as they've gone through very similar experiences. But the film not only manages to build these connections between both substantially through small details like their almost random use of different languages, but also in the editing itself, showing similar situations they're both experiencing almost simultaneously while also exploring their differences in just the right measure. After all, one is young, the other is old, and it's clear they would often feel the urge to oppose each other. But eventually (and no spoilers), they build a bond that's genuine and believable. After all, a boy needs a father figure, and a lonely teacher needs that feeling that he's truly made a positive difference in a student's life. The journey of these few weeks ends up being very rewarding, because every character in this film is much more than they appear, and some developments are quite provocative, guided by Alexander Payne, who understands the story's true sensitivity but with an inherent layer of cynicism. A story with an inherent layer of cynicism couldn't have an ending that wasn't at least bittersweet. Both characters end the film with their arcs concluded and tied up, not with a completely happy ending, but the film has already spent two hours showing you that life will always have more downs than ups. But an old, tired, and arrogant teacher managed to put aside his pride and make a difference in a student's life, setting him on the right path-and for a teacher, that's good enough.