Spike Jonze teamed with Arcade Fire in 2011 to make this short film based on the latter's 2010 concept album, The Suburbs. It's a great one (some would say Arcade Fire's last great album, but I'd disagree - 2013's Reflektor is fantastic and people are mean), but unfortunately, this 30-minute accompaniment isn't so good.
Firstly, I should say it's not terrible. It's right on the cusp of being something good. It gets off to a strong start, it evokes a sense of nostalgia (paired with some unease, for good measure) effectively, and when it uses Arcade Fire's music front and centre, it really works.
Unfortunately, the story it was trying to tell muddies and worsens the story told in the album. This is not like 1982's Pink Floyd - The Wall where the film adaptation clarifies and dramatises an album's more obscure story.
Visually it looks pretty good, but the sound mixing is all out of whack. Music's loud while some dialogue is barely comprehensible. It spells some things out too obviously while being annoyingly obscure about other things, making for a watch that eventually becomes frustrating. Die hard Arcade Fire and/or Spike Jonze fans might get something out of it, but I wasn't really a fan.
(Not a criticism of the film, but I can't help but feel like it's awkward how there's a conversation between characters in this film about consent, after allegations broke in 2022 about misconduct by the band's frontman, Win Butler, who also co-wrote this short film).
