jerrycoliver

I was very excited to see this movie. I thought the source material was strong (it had some problems, but still very strong.) It has an incredibly talented cast...sadly, the director let everybody down.

First off, when you're adapting a book for screen...you have to understand it. It is very clear that the director (also the screenplay) read the book and highlighted the details without considering the subtext. As an example, there are a lot of nice-looking ECU shots of details...but if the scene isn't about Kevin starting to break, then you can't just wedge the crushing of cereal in there.

I feel like there are a lot of directors who try to make pretty pictures rather than use film language (maybe they don't know it.) In this case, it's just a mess of detail shots that have no meaning and aren't even that pretty. If the director had taken the time to understand the material, perhaps these shots could have been used to heighten the tension of each scene. Instead, she wastes tons of time on these without developing characters, expanding the story, and not even progressing the plot. There is so much in the source material it's almost a crime.

Speaking of the tension...I understand not every scene can be as tense as the gas station scene in "No Country for Old Men"...however, at no point in time in this movie did I feel any concern. Part of this is casting the other part is directing.

Tilda Swinton is a fine actress. She is not right for this role. We need someone a little warmer. Now that said, I can see Tilda being perfect, but the screenplay needs to get us to identify with her and like her. No time is spent on doing this. To Tilda's credit, I don't think the director is an "actor's director," considering her and John C. Reilly do not seem to be in the same movie. John, another brilliant actor, does not look like Tilda's husband. The book doesn't make them opposites, but they are different enough. So as a screenwriter, you have to lean into that and develop their relationship in that way, or cut that relationship detail...it can't be left unexplained because everyone watching (who didn't read the book) and wondering how these two ended up together in the first place.

Ezra Miller is unsettling by nature. He needed a lot more screen time to let it shine. Kevin was perfectly cast, but clearly the director was more interested in detail shots than working with the actors. She leans on John and Tilda to carry the movie, but it doesn't seem like she ever had a conversation with them about anything. It's weird. You have such talent, and it could work (but probably not the best casting to begin with), and you just never tried.

Again, with this subject matter...there's never a moment of tension. Never a moment was I on the edge of my seat. Just completely missed the point of nearly every aspect of the story...for what? So you can have a couple of detail shots that are trying too hard to mean something, but don't. This movie is the equivalent of that girl at the farmer's market who takes B&W shots of long shadows...it doesn't mean anything. She had brilliant actors, great source material, and just dropped the ball everywhere.

I just can't explain how awful the director is on this project, but maybe the problems started with the screenplay. She just didn't understand what was important in the story. You have to consolidate portions and adapt them to work in 2 2-hour film. There's so much missing that brings the story to a boiling point that's left out.

Such a shame. I hope someone else gets to revisit the source materials and give of the proper adaptation it deserves. Unfortunately, Kevin will never be more perfectly cast than Ezra Miller, but I would sacrifice one role's perfect casting for a screenplay and director that understood what they were doing.

Hard to review this one. I will say I might be leaning more positive because of my experiences (I'm a recovering alcoholic with an autistic child.) So, it does speak to me more than most people.

It's a faith movie that isn't over the top or in your face about it. In fact, you could easily make the argument that faith really isn't there except to intensify one aspect of the main character.

It's low budget, and like most low budget movies, it can't help but feel low budget, especially in the crowd scenes. The technical stuff is all spot-on. They are a very talented crew. It runs long. I wish the producers worked to cut 10 minutes out of the opening to get to the family sooner.

The acting was good. Levi is a very good actor, but there are some moments I think he overacted. For example, when he bumps into the wall when he's drunk...most drunks bump into things and don't react to it. He, for some reason, wanted to call attention to it as if someone was watching him. But very small things. Overall, the acting was average.

Apart from my situation, it doesn't offer much if you're not married with children. That being said, they did go out of their way to give each person in the family something significant to overcome, even Logan, which did feel rushed; however, it was set up very well.

As for all the 1* (and I see this everywhere online), 99% are complaining that Austin is not the main character...I seriously don't know what trailer they watched to be under the impression this movie wasn't mostly about the dad. The child is the inciting incident and plays the antagonist throughout the movie. No, it's not a movie about an autistic child; it's about the family and specifically the dad.

I do get upset with the people complaining that parents in my situation can't have a movie that we can watch and sympathize with. I love my children, but it is difficult, and any parent of an autistic child will tell you there are times it pushes you to the limit. We can't parent the same way as other parents. I love family movies, and it's nice this movie is more for us. We don't need an autistic character in every movie or a parent struggling. We have this, and it did a very good job showing the stress and the observations about our children. So I'm grateful. Not every movie is for everyone.