|
Post by Fox in the Snow on Jan 31, 2021 1:55:59 GMT
Still only seen a very few 2020 films, but this is easily the best so far and would hold up against any of the top films of the previous few years. Like a strange inverse of mother! or a lost Bergman script directed by David Lynch. Unique and mysterious with a visual style accentuating the themes of claustrophobia and isolation and some nice surreal flourishes, in particular during the final act. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a film that I’ve almost immediately wanted to re-watch. Brilliant almost as good as Synecdoche, New York. 9/10
|
|
|
Post by Nicko's Nose on Jan 31, 2021 3:17:23 GMT
Time to watch it I guess. Tomorrow maybe.
|
|
|
Post by Nora on Jan 31, 2021 3:24:01 GMT
Still only seen a very few 2020 films, but this is easily the best so far and would hold up against any of the top films of the previous few years. Like a strange inverse of mother! or a lost Bergman script directed by David Lynch. Unique and mysterious with a visual style accentuating the themes of claustrophobia and isolation and some nice surreal flourishes, in particular during the final act. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a film that I’ve almost immediately wanted to re-watch. Brilliant almost as good as Synecdoche, New York. 9/10omg thanks for reminding me to watch this!! Will do tmr and revert back. Glad to see you liked it, I LOVE Charlie Kaufmans work.
|
|
|
Post by Fox in the Snow on Jan 31, 2021 4:13:25 GMT
Still only seen a very few 2020 films, but this is easily the best so far and would hold up against any of the top films of the previous few years. Like a strange inverse of mother! or a lost Bergman script directed by David Lynch. Unique and mysterious with a visual style accentuating the themes of claustrophobia and isolation and some nice surreal flourishes, in particular during the final act. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a film that I’ve almost immediately wanted to re-watch. Brilliant almost as good as Synecdoche, New York. 9/10omg thanks for reminding me to watch this!! Will do tmr and revert back. Glad to see you liked it, I LOVE Charlie Kaufmans work. It's a nice companion to Synecdoche, that being so expansive and maximal, and this so insular and micro-cosmic. Look forward to your thoughts.
|
|
|
Post by Fox in the Snow on Jan 31, 2021 8:04:27 GMT
Time to watch it I guess. Tomorrow maybe. Hope you like it. Let me know what you think.
|
|
|
Post by Stammerhead on Jan 31, 2021 11:16:46 GMT
I could have happily done without the Oklahoma musical section but apart from that it was brilliant. Nice to see the 4:3 ratio being used effectively.
|
|
|
Post by Fox in the Snow on Jan 31, 2021 12:06:26 GMT
I could have happily done without the Oklahoma musical section but apart from that it was brilliant. Nice to see the 4:3 ratio being used effectively. It probably still would have worked without the Oklahoma references, but I liked the extra layer they added. There's been some great uses of 4:3 in recent years, but a lot of them are arguably just successful on an aesthetic level. Here it effectively reinforces the feeling of being trapped and the film's singular viewpoint.
|
|
|
Post by Vits on Jan 31, 2021 18:05:55 GMT
I'M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS essentially has only 3 locations. 1 of them is the road, and this is where everything falls apart. The characters drive and talk about different topics. It allows viewers to have an idea of what kind of people they are, but not how they're feeling in the moment, making their exchanges dull. And due to them being inside a car, there's a limited amount of camera angles. It's not low enough to make these scenes visually boring, but it's not high enough for the shot compositions to look as good as in the other 2 locations, which are a farm and a school. Due to the ambiguous nature of the plot, the audience can't decode everything that's going on, but the focus on the characters' emotions (including the most awkward dinner I've seen in a long time) absorbs us into wanting to interpret the surreal elements. There's a man who gets nervous the moment someone talks about marriage, yet he doesn't seem to want to break up. There's a woman who feels trapped both literally (inside a house she can't leave, despite being in a hurry) and figuratively (in a relationship she wants to end, especially when she realizes what it would mean for her to stay by her boyfriend's side while he takes care of his old parents), resulting in her losing the grasp of time. There's a janitor who constantly stares at actors rehearsing a play. Is he longing for a happier life and a romanticized world seems like the perfect escape from reality? That would explain why he also watches a cheesy movie directed by Robert Zemeckis. I was confused as to why his name was picked, since he's not known for making independent romantic comedies. Writer/Director Charlie Kaufman said in an interview that the choice was at random and that's why it's supposed to be funny. The problem with that is that we're talking about a parody. He should've either selected a filmmaker who specializes in the genre or one whose projects are the complete opposite. Robert is somewhere in between (he has made feel-good dramedies, except with big budgets), so the joke gets muddled. Also, the color palette and maybe other visual elements should've been different. You need to separate the film-within-the-film and the film itself, and giving them a different look is usually the best option. 6/10 ------------------------------------- You can read comments of other movies in my blog.
|
|
|
Post by Fox in the Snow on Jan 31, 2021 23:18:33 GMT
That would explain why he also watches a cheesy movie directed by Robert Zemeckis. I was confused as to why his name was picked, since he's not known for making independent romantic comedies. Writer/Director Charlie Kaufman said in an interview that the choice was at random and that's why it's supposed to be funny. The problem with that is that we're talking about a parody. He should've either selected a filmmaker who specializes in the genre or one whose projects are the complete opposite. Robert is somewhere in between (he has made feel-good dramedies, except with big budgets), so the joke gets muddled. Also, the color palette and maybe other visual elements should've been different. You need to separate the film-within-the-film and the film itself, and giving them a different look is usually the best option. I like that, would have been funny if used Lars Von Trier or something, but I don't think he was necessarily going for outright humor there and I think that would have distracted from the purpose of that "scene". You're right though Zemeckis is a bit middle ground, not sure who he could have used, Nora Ephron maybe.
Perhaps visually it was meant to blur with the main story as the janitor took elements from it to augment his memories/fantasies.
|
|