More Dianne Wiest please. Her character and acting was the highlight in this otherwise Hollywood cliche trash. Does Hollywood really believe we, the audience, cheers for predatory and exploitative characters who “have a dream?”
Back to Dianne - one of the best, most underrated actor of our times.
If you’re prone to depression don’t watch this. While it is well-acted, my problem with this story is the passivity that defines the main character. It would have made more sense if it was made in the 1950s. Being a stay-at-home parent is not for everybody, which is why women have fought for the right to make choices for themselves. Additionally, the mental health field is thriving and psychotropics are widely available. The man who wrote and directed this movie provides us with the most passive woman on the face of the earth. Allows her husband to have sex with her when she clearly doesn’t want to - uh, she can say NO. Get a job, get a therapist, get a job, get a divorce, find some friends. Raising children is not easy and neither is marriage or depression but that’s not the problem here. The problem is the writer/director created two shallow, unsympathetic and unlikable characters and I felt his disdain for them. A very unpleasant movie-watching experience.
This un-scary, low-key movie is well acted and pulls at your heartstrings a little. Good, enjoyable experience. Phylicia Rashaad is always great. Well done.
Predictable, uninteresting and exploitative. No one is likable or entertaining enough to save this film. Carrey (usually excellent at everything he does) brings nothing to the role. It’s also misogynistic - as if we need any more of that in this day and age.
I’ve always known instinctively that conversion therapy is a horrid practice but watching a family have to deal with this was gut-wrenching. This central belief, this twisted fallacy that being gay is a ‘sin’ has wrought so much pain and destruction that it is the real sin. Each person in this story, from Jared, his parents, his ‘girlfriend’, the other kids at the camp and even the ‘counselors’ are all victims of this ugly fallacy. This movie really brought that home to me. With one exception, no one is the ‘Bad Guy.’ Edgerton doesn’t make it that clean and easy for his audience. He doesn’t facilitate some amusement park ride with Hollywood payoffs. He tells the story with the respect that these are real people. Well done. Points off for casting Flea given his bands reputation for misogyny although he was quite good in the role.
The first two thirds of the movie are an intense, taut thriller (with some humor). My heart was pounding and I was actually yelling 'Get Out!' There is a menace hiding under the so-called nice people. The brother character was sufficiently scary, the parents - definitely creepy. Everyone else - WTF is going on? But, what a hugely disappointing ending. The ending resorted to pure trope horror crap. Unique concept = Lost with this un-unique unoriginal ending. Did I switch channels and find the ending to a different movie? Did the same writer who wrote the first 2/3rds write this stupid ending? Did the writer just give up? Did the producers decide they needed chopped body parts and 'fight to the death' scenes and re-write the ending? The writer should have found a much smarter resolution, in keeping with the rest of the movie. Too bad.
Score for beautiful craftsmanship in movie making. Best word to describe this movie is ... Creeeepy. Don't expect a big payoff or revelation because I'm not sure it's there. Best to watch alone, at night, with lights out. You have to be in the right mood and not looking to numb out on gory horror. It's a quiet movie, subtle and beautiful. It's slow but not cheap. There is an originality to it, which I appreciated. I haven't been scared or creeped out by a movie in many years. It didn't scare me, but for a short time after watching it, I felt like I was being watched.
