infernoguyrules

I had a wild ride with this one. For the first few episodes i didn't quite understand the tone or style, even though I had read into the kind of aesthetic premise that was centered in a lot of the articles about it.

Basically, the big odd choice here that makes it stand out is that the lead adult characters play themselves in a variety of different eras of their lives prior to "the present" which i suppose is probably 2025, going all the way back to elementary school.

This can be a tiny bit disorienting, but also pretty funny and cute at times. They never really give you any reason its done this way, so i assume some people will be put off by it, but I was not really put off by the strange ness at all, it was the other half of this decision that I feel the most complex about, which is the way it routes back and forth through time so frequently.

The basic loop for an episode is you'll see one period, and then it will be cut together with something from when they were younger, and those 2 periods will rarely be directly compared, its mostly up to you to draw a link between them, thematically. It's almost like in an ensemble cast sitcom how somehow everyone will all be dealing with a similar moral/ethical issue on the same day each in a unique way so that at the end the results add up to a coherent worldview? Except in this show instead of having 6 main characters, they have 3 main characters and they fold their life history over itself so you see 2 halves that add up to a whole.

Ultimately, I can't complain because in the end i think it works, but it can be a lot to take in at times.

I had to get that out of the way, because it seems like what people notice first, which is somewhat regrettable because my actual review will stay pretty short:

If you are interested in that quirk, thats one reason to watch this, but I think the main reason to watch this movie is the realistic and nuanced way it deals with trauma, family, and friendship.

A lot of the show is very low-key, it plays things slow and even until theres a rough moment, or a really euphoric moment, and then it leans into soundtrack and editing a little more, and the acting will get a bit more theatric.

If you need like... fast pacing or extremely high stakes, this isn't gonna do it, but if you wanna watch some good actors play characters who act dumb and feel bad and then fix it, etc. Check it out, its worth a watch.

I think for some folks this movie will land perfectly, Its got great acting, the cinematography is great, the actors are likable, and I had at least one really big laugh... but thats kind of where the cracks start to show.

I was 2/3 of the way through this movie when its humour first really connected with me beyond a chuckle. I'd connected emotionally with the main character early on, and the side characters are all affable and carry a scene, but I guess I'll skip anymore meandering and say that you can only put so much lettuce in a sandwich, and I'm a lover of lettuce.

This movie makes a point of its slowness, and its a bold move, it wants to connect you to the main characters malaise and dissociation from the world. It tries a few tricks to make that tolerable, and for a while it succeeds. It uses beautifully colored and shot still life on one hand, and plodding but well delivered background office banter on the other, to justify its long stretches of near-silence.

Its punctuates these meandering sequences with another variety of beautiful surreal still life that show the main characters inner world, or occasionally with sudden outbursts of odd behavior, and these moments stuck out the most.

Overall, its hard to give this a 6 because its obviously a work of passion, and I think some people will love it, but for me if a movie is only an hour and thirty minutes long and i feel actively irritated by the pacing, theres a problem, or its just not for me. I felt at least 20 minutes could have gone, easily, while i also felt the movie ended earlier than it needed to. Right as I finally felt it was picking up and there might be a few more peaks in its ending, it petered out.

If you loved the trailer and you love slow dramas, ignore my rating and check this out, if i could give it a 6.5 i would, but I can't give it a 7.

I go through phases where i take in a lot of one type of media, and vice versa, and I've been back on films. Usually when i enter a phase like this it because i have some new outlook, and the thought thats really been guiding me along this time is that "I think I like a public 6 more than a public 7" (funny enough i always rate them 8 XD)

My last 2 movie phases were "I want to find my absolute favorite films of all time" and i did, and "Maybe popular movies are not bad" and i was wrong, they are. So i looked back at all my favorites, including childhood ones I'd somewhat abandoned, and i realized i really movies that fall in the mid-6's.

A lot of these movies use well-tested setups but take risks with them, and i think thats what i like. They tend to be well made indie films with great casts and low budgets that are very heartfelt. My favorite movies ever are certainly great, but the upper 6's are what get me through life, something that everyone needs. If they tried to be 9s or 10s, they'd probably be 4s or less. Rather than trying to change your life they just reflect it, and there'll be a few moments you always remember and you can share with others, like its your special movie.

I didn't talk about the movie at all hahahaha. The leads are fantastic, its a movie about people talking, people changing. Its got some piercing dark moments that really touch home, and a ton of funny scenarios. Its best you go in without me coloring your view of the thing. Watch the trailer for the movie, if it interests you in any way, put it on, it might make a really important memory.