Just saw this,
The directors aesthetic, the cinematography is stunning, the setting, the music, stylistically, it is a near masterpiece. It actually reminds me very much of Spring Breakers, and of course, it essentially is a 2019 "Belly", which influenced everything about the movie, and the directors style. I loved the acting, I loved that is was such a contemporary story, a Tinder date gone wrong? And the acting is strong enough in the first 2 minutes, you wish the movie could just go on like that, the writing in those scenes is sharp and timely, very similar to the indefinable currentness of Insecure's best moments.
The tension in the rising action is perfect, because you know it's going bad, but how will it get there, with such prepared, innocent people? There's a grim theme in that tension. The movie is a fairy tale of sorts, a folk tale, the way for thousands of years stories were told to explain, to triumph, to process (grief, pain, joy romance). I don't think one has ever been made like this, taking police brutality, and placing it so far into the realm of the righteous. It's a very, very bold move. I can only imagine the Fox News crowd, when this comes across their nightly talking points.
That is incredible in itself. The movie makes no excuses for itself, or it's characters. The themes are varied and layered, sometimes the script badly falters, almost jarringly, with some clunky lines, that are saved by the actors delivering them. But, I barely remember those parts, I do remember the gorgeous and lush score, the dreamy drive across the South, the characters they met on the way. One moment that stood out, is the hamfisted "I represented my Mom's killer scene", the movie doesn't have to be realistic, but that should have been cleaned up a little.
If you are looking for blistering realism, this isn't the right movie. There are many of those movies, and will likely be many more, even better ones. This is doing something entirely different, almost. I didn't like the ending, I would have preferred the picturesque beauty of the last scene, without the heavy handed violence, but that's just a personal choice. The other shooting in the movie was also, jarring, and felt out of place, forced, not needed. That, played counter to the love scene was not lost on me, but I still didn't care for it.
The pushback against the movie is bizarre, I think most younger audience won't really connect, if they are already invested in the themes of the movie. It will seem overlong, and too artistically inclined for most mainstream movie audiences. But, think of a folk tale, a major studio, where the HEROES have killed a police officer. It has never been done before? And may never be done again, as beautifully, or lovingly, as this was. But, these stories will keep being told, and being told in different ways, until perhaps, the days when brutal killings shot on smartphones are as distant as water hoses and pitbulls.
The directors aesthetic, the cinematography is stunning, the setting, the music, stylistically, it is a near masterpiece. It actually reminds me very much of Spring Breakers, and of course, it essentially is a 2019 "Belly", which influenced everything about the movie, and the directors style. I loved the acting, I loved that is was such a contemporary story, a Tinder date gone wrong? And the acting is strong enough in the first 2 minutes, you wish the movie could just go on like that, the writing in those scenes is sharp and timely, very similar to the indefinable currentness of Insecure's best moments.
The tension in the rising action is perfect, because you know it's going bad, but how will it get there, with such prepared, innocent people? There's a grim theme in that tension. The movie is a fairy tale of sorts, a folk tale, the way for thousands of years stories were told to explain, to triumph, to process (grief, pain, joy romance). I don't think one has ever been made like this, taking police brutality, and placing it so far into the realm of the righteous. It's a very, very bold move. I can only imagine the Fox News crowd, when this comes across their nightly talking points.
That is incredible in itself. The movie makes no excuses for itself, or it's characters. The themes are varied and layered, sometimes the script badly falters, almost jarringly, with some clunky lines, that are saved by the actors delivering them. But, I barely remember those parts, I do remember the gorgeous and lush score, the dreamy drive across the South, the characters they met on the way. One moment that stood out, is the hamfisted "I represented my Mom's killer scene", the movie doesn't have to be realistic, but that should have been cleaned up a little.
If you are looking for blistering realism, this isn't the right movie. There are many of those movies, and will likely be many more, even better ones. This is doing something entirely different, almost. I didn't like the ending, I would have preferred the picturesque beauty of the last scene, without the heavy handed violence, but that's just a personal choice. The other shooting in the movie was also, jarring, and felt out of place, forced, not needed. That, played counter to the love scene was not lost on me, but I still didn't care for it.
The pushback against the movie is bizarre, I think most younger audience won't really connect, if they are already invested in the themes of the movie. It will seem overlong, and too artistically inclined for most mainstream movie audiences. But, think of a folk tale, a major studio, where the HEROES have killed a police officer. It has never been done before? And may never be done again, as beautifully, or lovingly, as this was. But, these stories will keep being told, and being told in different ways, until perhaps, the days when brutal killings shot on smartphones are as distant as water hoses and pitbulls.
