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 This thread is about the movie, so don't read it if you haven't seen it, you dummies. I saw this last night. It's getting heaps of praise everywhere I read about it, but I think it is overrated. The performances are great, but the direction and the editing hurt the film for me. The editing actually gets in the way of the film, while the direction merely does nothing to improve the film. The editing is totally uneven. At times, the camera sits staring at characters as awkward moments pass or they wait for someone to return. At other times, scenes end mid-conversation, cutting away for no discernible reason and leaving out information. The direction is uninspired, as far as I could tell. Nothing about it surprised me or made me appreciate it. A lot of the scenes have really boring direction, using one or two camera angles and just switching back and forth. Also, an utterly out of place slow-motion scene at a funeral that went on... and on... and on. Finally, the music was way over the top. During tragic moments, the classical music soundtrack blared for minutes at a time. The filmmakers should have been confident enough in their work to let it stand without such heavy music. I know this post is mostly negative, but these are the things I'm interested in hearing responses to. Overall, I liked the movie, but I just don't think it should be considered a masterpiece.
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Dec 3, 2016 13:52
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I dunno I thought it was kind of a masterpiece. Like it gets human behaviour as well as almost anything I've seen, and does a great job of portraying the tragic comedy that permeates so much of everyday life. Like the trouble the paramedics have getting the stretcher onto the ambulance. Didn't notice any issues with the music or editing personally.
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Dec 5, 2016 18:59
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Sorry to necro this thread, but this movie overall seemed to be a pretty brutal takedown of the sorts of films that are like, journeys of self discovery. Every time there seemed to be any opportunity to neatly "begin a new chapter" or do anything that would fall into a trope of any kind (audience pleasing or not), it took a different tack I agree that it seemed incredibly true to life, except for both bar fights and the window punching. Those were really hackey and didn't make any sense.
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Dec 22, 2016 02:27
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Waffles Inc. posted:Sorry to necro this thread quote:both bar fights quote:the window punching
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Dec 22, 2016 02:58
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Coaaab posted:Oh please do, the movie went wide last weekend, so I think we're gonna get more posters talking about it. Oh I definitely agree--I see where it was trying to evoke the Catholic guilt a-man-in-search-of-punishment thing (I mean, the man accidentally sends his children to hell), but neither fight seemed true to the character given the sort of naturalistic, quotidian style the movie had most of the time. The man who is so cripplingly withdrawn into his own guilt that he can't hold a human conversation is not the man I buy punching a stranger. Those sequences were the only ones that didn't work for me.
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Dec 22, 2016 03:23
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Waffles Inc. posted:I agree that it seemed incredibly true to life, except for both bar fights and the window punching. Those were really hackey and didn't make any sense. Dude was a depressed drunk with self harming tendencies, it makes complete sense- the window punching reminded me of a particularly bad time in college when I got super hosed up and punched a soap dispenser (lol) and bled all over the communal bathroom.
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Dec 24, 2016 16:49
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I thought the movie was great. Incredibly depressing, in a true to life kind of way. I just wish the ending wrapped things up, even a little.
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Dec 24, 2016 17:10
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Coaaab posted:Oh please do, the movie went wide last weekend, so I think we're gonna get more posters talking about it. you don't need to use spoiler tags in this thread
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Dec 25, 2016 02:28
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blue squares posted:The direction is uninspired, as far as I could tell. Nothing about it surprised me or made me appreciate it. A lot of the scenes have really boring direction, using one or two camera angles and just switching back and forth. Also, an utterly out of place slow-motion scene at a funeral that went on... and on... and on. This reads less like criticism of the movie and more like a series of assumptions about how serious movies should be. There is actually nothing that says directing needs to be 'surprising', 'make you appreciate it', or be exciting. There's no director's handbook. Those are just things that are more easily identifiable; not necessarily better. The criticism is also somewhat incoherent since you are complaining that the directing is boring and understated, but then you're also complaining the music is over the top. So the visuals should be more showy and the music less so? Why? And what do you mean that directors should be confident enough in their work to 'let it stand without heavy music'? The music is part of the work. Pedro De Heredia fucked around with this message at 16:06 on Dec 25, 2016 |
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Dec 25, 2016 16:01
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blue squares posted:you don't need to use spoiler tags in this thread Pedro De Heredia posted:This reads less like criticism of the movie and more like a series of assumptions about how serious movies should be. Coaaab fucked around with this message at 16:16 on Dec 25, 2016 |
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Dec 25, 2016 16:13
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Just saw this and thought it was great. The performances were all really fantastic, especially the kid. Michelle Williams was great of course, as was Casey Affleck. I thought Affleck did a really good job of playing a more subdued, withdrawn character, without being boring at all. I usually prefer those types of performances to the more showy, screaming and crying kind though. I suppose you could say the direction was uninspired, but it didn't really bother me at all. I guess I don't have much to say about it, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. Although I do agree it did a good job of showing the darker comedy moments, like with the stretcher in the ambulance and the chicken in the freezer.
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Jan 1, 2017 01:02
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I liked the movie, but I though it might have been a bit more interesting if there wasn't any particular reason Casey Affleck's character was the way he was. Some people are just like that, you don't have to have sustained a horrible trauma.
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Jan 1, 2017 01:07
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Even if they aren't dramatic as in this movie, I don't think that people become as withdrawn or repressed as afflecks character without there being events which lead to it. A life time of disappointment compounding is hard to portray in a film (and probably not interesting) and there wouldn't really be a movie without explaining why a seemingly reasonable person reacts the way he does to things. I thought the best thing the movie did was flash back to show why he reacts to things the way he does, the movie would be gutted without them IMO.
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Feb 4, 2017 07:49
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This felt like a decent slice of life movie, like a less overtly comedic Alexander Payne effort, but certainly no masterpiece. After reading Matt Seitz and especially A.O. Scott's incredibly praiseful reviews for this, I feel like they're out of their loving minds.
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Feb 5, 2017 11:43
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^I thought it was a pretty special movie, definitely top 3 of the best picture noms, but I totally agree with the 'less comedic Alexander Payne' comment. Was thinking similar during the movie. Having two bar fights was a bit silly but apart from that it was striking how much it felt like watching real people react without any easy outs. It was frustrating at times but always compelling.
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Feb 14, 2017 14:57
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I actually thought the editing was great. I'd have to watch it again to see if there's weird moments (I vaguely remember a random shot of the baseball field that went nowhere), but for me it gave a sense that these characters are only really focusing on the problems in front of them and trying to avoid their own thoughts after the brother's death. One shot I really remember is there's a quick cut to the couch watching the ice skate ring, thinking to himself, clearly watching something. Then it cuts to his office where he's telling the kid to take a break. It lets the audience grasp his thought process for themselves without ham-fisting the information and leaving the finer details to the imagination. A similar moment is when the kid sees the pictures by Affleck's bed. It never cuts to the pictures to remind the audience or to the kid's face to show guilt or something. It leaves a moment of clear understanding for the kid without making it a tear-fest.
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Feb 16, 2017 21:28
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Finally watched this and it was really wonderful. There were a lot of little touches which relayed the awkwardness and hypersensitivity Casey affleck's character was going through - not being able to have a phone conversation without interrupting the other person; seeing his exwife at the funeral and about to go in for a hug but the new husband shaking his hand first; being on the phone with the funeral home while the son and girlfriend rustle packages and crunch on their cereal. Lot of really great background sounds mixed in to disrupt otherwise normal scenes. Well put together film.
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Mar 13, 2017 01:55
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In hindsight I think my favorite moment of the movie is when he is getting the news in the hospital. He curses at some point and then instantly apologizes for cursing. You just know the other people around him are expecting a reaction, that he'll show some emotion and they're getting absolutely nothing out of the guy. After the apology you can't tell if they're relieved or are like "that's it?" It tells you so much about his state of mind early on in the movie. That scene also provides some wonderful contrast with later scenes where he is getting drunk and starting fights with strangers. Mierenneuker fucked around with this message at 23:50 on Mar 14, 2017 |
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Mar 14, 2017 23:46
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 00:23 |
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Did anyone else think Patrick was just an incredible douche?
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May 6, 2017 14:47
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