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So, I feel like the only person who didn't think this was all that great. I found it to be incredibly shallow, with 2-dimensional characters all around. The "atmosphere" that all the reviewers are raving about is no more than a blue tint added in post for the exterior scenes and a yellow tint for interior scenes, and extras that are fatter and wrinklier than your average extra. It seemed like everyone was making a lot of effort to look "hard," but again, with no particular dimension to it. It's a film that features a lot of unpleasant things, and I don't doubt that the content is relatively close to reality, but the film itself is pretty much without substance, and I couldn't see any ideas beyond the goal to present the atmosphere, which was achieved pretty artificially while being sold as realism. And hey, I love artifice! But I also appreciate having at least one genuine human moment in a film.
The lead character's mission is pretty much a McGuffin. We're supposed to be enthralled by her strength and single-mindedness, but it's just a bunch of "you can't do this," "oh yes I can," "oh no you can't," "oh yes I can," peppered with, "I got two kids and my mother to take care of; we ain't got nothin'!" If you watch the trailer, the last line in it (A whispered "You was warned, but you didn't listen. Why didn't you listen?") is a good indicator of how the movie generally is. If you think that's a great line, then fine, but I think it's super cheesy, so a lot of the movie was pretty tedious. It doesn't help that the movie has no humor and is relentlessly dour.
The cinematography is nice, except for the tints added in post (sometimes it's obvious that they were shooting on a sunny day, but there's a blue tint to it anyway). I never ever felt like any of the filmmakers were from that area and capturing something that they knew, and that despite their best efforts, they were still stereotyping.
I didn't hate the movie. It was mildly engaging in the moments that it wasn't totally tedious, but the more I think back upon, the falser it rings.
Quote from: matt35mm on August 21, 2010, 03:03:59 PM
I never ever felt like any of the filmmakers were from that area and capturing something that they knew, and that despite their best efforts, they were still stereotyping.
I didn't hate the movie. It was mildly engaging in the moments that it wasn't totally tedious, but the more I think back upon, the falser it rings.
Exactly.
This was the poverty porn in the fashion of Slumdog Millionaire. It seemed not only disingenuous, but grossly fetishistic. I don't know if it was intending to feel sparse in it's pacing and tension, but instead it just felt lazy.
John Hawkes is a solid motherfucker, however, and almost elevates what little material he's given. Other than that, quite a disappointment.
Mild spoils...
Oh man, I loved this movie. It is interesting to see your critique, Matt, but a lot of what you gripe about I really enjoyed.
The single-mindedness of her character was fostered by the sort of society that makes people need to be so cut and dry. Her father put up the property rightfully in his name, but unethically no longer belonging to him. He had no regard for the family that he left his oldest daughter to care for.
I just love this environment because they captured the cold so well. Characters wearing several coats even indoors gives it this touch of lack of warmth both by nature but also internally, like they lack the funds for gas heat and survive the best they know how. And we know it's so isolated when the bonds guy stops by and they comment on how his car doesn't look like it's from around there.
Not to mention, every step of the way, people not only refuse to talk to her, but threaten her. Every rung of this story shows more and more how tightlipped these characters are, keeping what's really happening at large on a need to know basis, even when it affects families who will become destitute to protect the honor of a man who made a decision. His brother doesn't even help her look for him until he's sure that the father is dead.
I don't see this movie as stereotypical, these people exist and when you deal with meth on a huge scale in the backwoods, being that silent is the best thing for business, so no one else is chased after. It brings them at least a little more money to be able to survive in the unforgiving forest, so her investigating her father potentially endangered a lot of them. Hell, it probably even scared them to think that they all could one day be accountable for the decisions they make because this young girl is evidence of unconditional determination.
She's a true hunter and survivalist and teaches it to her family while her father ran off because he was put away for selling meth, a drug using chemicals from the city and an incredibly risky procedure (in terms of the potentiality of blowing up the workstation.) The father's existence was parasitic whereas she sought out what she needed to protect herself and her family.
Her single-mindedness and everyone's resistance to provide any sort of information are just the same Film Noir conventions I've seen repeated in countless other films. I don't even have a problem with them when used effectively but any sense of urgency was nonexistent this time. It might have been intentional, but it was hard to be engaged in a film that never attempted to build any tension. I was briefly excited by Teardrop's altercation outside of the bar, and later with the police officer, but both of those scenes deflate rather quickly.
The shakedown inside the barn had a lot of potential, but ultimately seemed pretty disingenuous, too.
I'd like to have admired the way they conveyed cold, or the interior of their homes, but I expect a director to be precise with those details and here they didn't even feel entirely precise.
Still, I can't stress enough... John Hawkes is fucking incredible.
This was fine.
:brickwall:
Haha, I'll elaborate if anyone cares.
:yabbse-cheesy:
This creeped me out beyond recognition. The film noir type character of straight forwardness is evident and done on purpose. I once had a long and eventful relationship with someone like Jennifer Lawrence's character. So, this movie and these characters brings up some volatile feelings. There were moments throughout that felt like a quiet david gordon green movie.
Its tough for something to get this under my skin but this did. Kinda surprised that more than one movie this month gave me utter nightmares. Something of a churning sickness ate at me while I viewed this. Maybe its because I know this world and these type of backwoods people. When I was involved with a woman from this part of way and I was in it with her all the way. (I miss you Cari.) I remember entering into conversations that I had no idea that they were going to turn into a complete downward spiral.
Although, I felt like they made something out of nothing with a lot of the dialogue and most of the scenes-giving too much weight to these scenes. I think they wanted it that way.
As john said Hawkes is outstanding. The other shining light next to Lawrence's character....
I liked this all right but the ending seemed weirdly out of synch with the rest of the picture. It almost ruined it for me.
Anti-climatic?
it was like that scene in port of call new orleans where suddenly everything just solves itself magically.
Spoilers
I dont think that the ending is out of sync with the rest of the picture. There's hope involved but it's not like the family is in a good position. They're still set up for a pretty bleak existence.
SPOILERS
Out of nowhere she gets money at the end, and that was a besides the point. The story was over by then. Her journey was complete. That was just a cheap last minute audience gift and it transported me back from the film's well earned reality to the movie business reality.