Post by Vits on Jul 3, 2019 20:31:52 GMT
One of CLIMAX's first scenes is an impressive dance routine that goes on for several minutes and that was filmed in one take with a mostly still camera. There are other early scenes where the camera is also still (one shows taped interviews with the main characters; the other is a series of chit-chats during the after-party), but it's visually boring. I know the idea is to keep things simple as a contrast/preparation for what's to come, but the framing of scenes like these can still be interesting to look at. There's also a sequence where the camera is placed on the ceiling. This can make some dances look cool (especially when the dancers are on the floor), but others not so much (like when the dancers are bending their knees, which is hard to notice as first). When we get to the half-way mark, the characters realize that someone put LSD in the sangria they've been drinking. From this point on, the movie manages to make the audience feel like we're tripping without showing the characters' hallucinations. It's thanks to the performances and the nightmarish visuals. Nowadays, long takes involving several rooms and actors aren't groundbreaking, but writer/director Gaspar Noé amazingly coordinates non-professional actors who are improvising most of the dialogue and plot, and the whole thing feels like it was meticulously planned. While there are 1 or 2 moments so exagerated that they result in unintentional laughs, most of the drama is effective. During the... ahem, climax, the use of light and color makes everything feel more intense, but it also makes it hard to tell who's who (some pairs of actors look alike). This is more obvious with the plot twist involving siblings GAZELLE & TAYLOR. It took me a moment to realize that the latter was him instead of someone else.
6/10
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The morning after, the police arrives. I know that the effects of the drug wouldn't have worn completely off by this point, but it's still a different mental stage, right? Then why is the movie still on "visual LSD" mode? Shouldn't it look like it during the 1st half? The officers stand still for so many seconds. Shouldn't they rush to check each body? One officer tries to wake EMMANUELLE (the manager) up by saying "Ma'am!" a bunch of times. She doesn't answer, so he says she's dead. He couldn't figure that out by looking at the pool of blood under her?! Then we find out who's responsible for the LSD (and therefore all the chaos). While the lights and colors during this scene make things easier to see, it's still hard to tell who the culprit is due to the framing and the fact that there are 1 or 2 other women with the same hair color and skin tone. One might argue that it doesn't really matter who did it, or why. That it wasn't the main focus. If so, why is it literally the last shot of the movie?
6/10
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You can read comments of other movies in my blog.