johnbeatnik

Although I enjoyed this film and it has a lot going for it it essentially didn't work as a story. Aaron Pierre and Don Johnson are both excellent, as is AnnaSophia Robb. The first half hour lays out a suspenseful premise yet the movie sags considerably after this and suffers greatly from several long and dull sequences with clunky exposition. For me, a genre flick such as this doesn't need masses of plot or story, just a good frame to hang the action sequences from. In the end they could have lost half an hour or so from the middle of the movie and it would have worked so much better. Saulnier is clearly a gifted director but I feel his work since his debut has been lacking a little.

Love this film. Acting performances are superb, particularly the two leads and Ed Harris. There's a darkness to the setting, characters are told in the opening of the movie that it isn't safe where they are and this sets the scene for the dread and loathing that occurs. Clint Mansells score is top notch as ever, the filming and cinematography are extremely arresting - I was reminded of Lynch and Refn in particular for use of cut aways and brightly coloured imagery. People in the reviews moan about a particular sequence towards the end of the film but I loved this.... In a world full of people accepting films about dudes that fly around in their pants we should be able to take a little surreality on board, not everything has to be hyper realistic! And it's clearly a metaphor folks - nobody actually thinks that sequence was supposed to depict true life surely!!!? Oh and the movie isn't violent throughout but there are some really nasty parts so if you're squeamish at all I'd avoid.