Watching Willard is rather like torture. It's not a boring movie, and it's got good production value, but it sucks you into a downward spiral that lacks any sort of catharsis. We are introduced to the character of Willard and come to sympathize with him, as his sick mother and holier-than-thou boss constantly berate and belittle him. But it seems that as soon as Willard has our sympathies, the movie plunges into his descent, and we the viewer are left absolutely helpless, thinking, "No, Willard! Don't do that!" At one point in the movie, I actually had to pause the DVD and take a breather in order to continue. I can't even remember the last time I had to do that. The movie left me feeling anxious, angry, and depressed, but without catharsis. I personally didn't feel it had any underlying value to it, and I didn't gain any fresh insight into life while watching it. However, this isn't to say that the movie is completely worthless. Although it left me with severely negative feelings, the production design was quite good (I enjoyed how everything about Willard himself was anachronistic), the acting was likewise fine, the cinematography was also great, and it DID manage to produce a strong reaction in me, albeit not a positive one. So I just thought i would warn the IMDb community that while this movie itself is not bad, it's not enjoyable. In fact, I would go so far as to call it a masochistic experience. You've been warned.
Review of Willard
