I actually saw this film 2 weeks ago, but it was so powerful , that I haven't been able to forget it.
Its striking ,shocking , fearless!
I am not usually into something that's described by those adjectives, but this time I could not stay ignorant.
First of all , brilliant score! The music by Jean-Pierre Taieb was emotional and beautiful and at the same time tragic and very moving! Perfect score for this kind of film.
ok wow 9.5, right? it must have been perfect?
OK, its not all praise. Some of the actors seem to lack professionalism , and the start of the film ( the actual start , not the prologue) was a bit messed up and chaotic, and sometimes even stupid. However the film repaired itself. At the start in the group there is a child, and immediately it feels like the child shouldn't be there , all the parts that involved the child was a mess, and felt awkward and just , well, bad, not to even mentioned that the child actor was bad, anyways. as the story goes , we quite quickly ''get rid of " the child ( which actually didn't make any sense , not for the story not conceptually and actually just wtf) BUT it works for the better :D. Because after that it goes up from there. ( actually the radio part was stupid as well , but that goes away as well)
From there on the film gets to the point. A story about how people slowly go insane and mad and brutal and violent and become monsters, if we are locked out of the world in a dark with random people with no hope of life outside.
So we get to the point . The film is about despair , helplessness , feat at the beginning. But then , I think this is one of the first films that gets over that , and concentrates on the what happens after hopelessness and despair and fear. Madness. But not just madness, the inner animal , the brutal human being. The primitive animal. This is one of the story that show what happens when there is no responsibility left. When a human being is given the choice to do whatever he wants because there is nobody that he is responsible to , not even himself, because he knows he is going to die anyway. So the hell slowly brakes loose.Of course one may say it would depend on the person or peoples character( who would go nuts, and who wouldn't) and that's true. The film does show different personalities. And that is a huge plus as well, because the films doesn't just show good guys, but real life bad guys , and how those guys would turn even worse-evil , when put in those circumstances. Usually these type of films show how good people turn bad, when faced with death and despair. But here bad guys get disgustingly mad and bad. Power and control , is what they lust then. When come to think of it , its easy to see how , when all of the possibility of being in control has been taken from a human being( he is locked in(like in a prison) with no control of his life and survival), control suddenly becomes the only thing he desires , and tries to pretend he has, and tries to gain back with all his power.
I guess I have to mention the sexuality , as that was quite a big part of the film. Freud would be proud. And all those who agree with him in that sexuality is one of the main drives on human life.
This film definitely shows that it is so, but you will not be proud of it. Well and that easily ties in with the control and power part.
Well as I mentioned they show different personalities, so yes there are good "guys" as well, and people who stay true to ethics. And then there are those who are jealous , and those who cant let go and move on. and those who just want to be useful and do whatever is required.
All of this sounds quite scary and disturbing, and it is , it really is , the film is disturbing, no doubt. but the most scary part is , that it is believable. AND that is the sad truth that the film conveys.
An stellar performance by Michael Eklund. Scary and one meant for nightmares. I think a new horror villain actor has been born.(judging from IMDB he has 6 feature film roles coming out this year.) All of the actors play their parts well. And the performances seems to get better the closer to the end we go. Maybe it's just because you have slowly familiarized the actors, or maybe they really do get better as the tragedy intensifies and the roles get more demanding. (I guess sometimes it is easier to perform a madman's role than an everyday normal guys ( because that just might come out fake) but crazy sick person , is not something we have all seen everyday( so its more believable) and actors in general have admitted that playing villain is more rewarding). OR maybe because it was shot in chronological sequence! This probably was an interesting experiment for the director , but it only harmed the film, because as I mentioned, the performances and story at the start don't make whole lot of sense. So I assume later, on when the actors came to realize what is like to happen, they got into the characters way better. As did Milo Ventimiglia at the start he seems annoying and irrational, but later he plays his part perfectly.
Some awesome scenes/shots sequence ,clearly a reference ( and style wise taken ) from the all well known Requiem for a Dream drug pill consuming sequences. Actually in a lot of ways this film reminds that film.
Overall great , beautiful cinematography and composition. A lot of Stanley Kubrick style symmetric shots used over and over( all the corridors and rooms).
The end is just pure magic , in my opinion. So strong and bold , and effective and emotional. Mostly due to the amazing music, and the rest is actors performances(great at the end), and cinematography( the high speed (slowed down movements). Its esthetically brilliant.
Plot-wise? Ye , it doesn't make 100% sense. Ye you still wonder :and what next? and who were they and why that and that happened.
But when it comes down to how it felt , and the portrayal of the tragedy , it was complete! Emotionally it was complete- there was nothing to be added .
Thus 9.5 . -0.5 for the plot gaffe and sorta bad first half.
Definitely underrated film. However, it truly isn't a cinema film, it is way more personal, you just wouldn't feel comfortable watching it in a cinema full of people. And its not for everybody. you should know what you are going into before actually seeing this film.
(I didn't quite now ,but I had a fair amount of information ,still I was unprepared for the second half, but luckily it worked for the best, although at points I though I should stop (its bad , and unaccountable) But you just have to keep on and see it through.
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