Well, it took about 2 years but I finally got around to watching this. The trailer was hands down my favorite of 2016. The fierce Scott Walker composition cut to all the stunning shots hooked me hard, and induced goosebumps every time I watched it.
Let me say right off the bat that it is quite an odd film in the sense that it truly feels like an incredible pilot episode for a series, all building towards something that feels monstrous, but just as you reach that point, the movie is over. While this element is probably not for everyone, I was cracking up in supportive amusement during the closing sequence - I personally admired it's absence of a common folk sort of finale.
Setting that oddity aside, which could be considered a pretty major flaw in some people's eyes, everything about this film is masterfully done... the whole cast kills. This was my intro to Berenice Bejo and she made a MARK! Simultaneously beautiful and elegant, and then, at turn of a hat, heinous and witchlike. Liam Cunningham is as strong and actor as possible, shown here through stoicism with an underlying weasliness to his character. Stacy Martin is intoxicating and graceful as usual and young TOM SWEET steals the show, flawlessly delivering as a child imprisoned in the confines of his own royal sort of upbringing. Every motion, every murmur that he delivers hits right on the mark.
The film is absolutely gorgeous too. It's shot and directed beautifully in a very disciplined manner, and I'd use the same adjectives for the pacing. All the wardrobe, styling, and environments are tastefully chosen and displayed. And, of course, the frickin' legend SCOTT WALKER's score is intense and awesome - I wish there was more of his abrasive orchestral cuts but the film doesn't really call for it outside of the opening and the finale - I'll take what I can get.
All I can say is after viewing this and based off of what I can tell so far about Corbet's upcoming second film, VOX LUX, he could very well be one of the new darlings of American filmmakers! Childhood of a Leader comes off as a huge risk to make in this era but he made it happen and I see it as a very ballsy move for a debut. Can't wait to see Corbet's second film VOX LUX starring Natalie Portman and Jude Law in theaters this December - I think he has a masterful catalogue in him waiting to be unleashed!
