I watched this film alone at midnight. In one word, this film was dreamlike, or more accurately, nightmarish.
This film is so far from anything else I've seen, in visuals, dialogue, story, characters, structure. The 3:4 aspect ratio coupled with the black and white palette creates a distinct look, allowing the film to detach itself from modern cinema and experiment with visuals. Light has been perfected, and it's used to tell story as much as a conversation or monologue does. Often, there will be stretches of time in which not a single word is said, instead offering imagery for the viewer to discern the story. When speech is used, it's accurate to the time period and heavily accented, making it difficult to tell what is being said, however this poses less of a problem than most films, as dialogue is only a small part of what is needed to understand. Plus, it means the small snippets of speech that you hear are ones that will stick in your mind for days to come. This film is formless, not relying on a simple three-act structure, but rather, creating its own, slow descent of an experience. Every scene is equally gripping as the last, culminating to an ending that will burn itself into your mind. And, it goes without saying that Willem Dafoe's and Robert Pattinson's acting is flawless. The two carry the entire film between them, making you forget they're even actors and not really the characters they play. I'm genuinely excited to see where these two go next.
All of this comes together to create an ascended cinematic experience, and a fantastic technical feat. However, the film's lack of reliance on cinematic norms may make the film almost entirely impenetrable and meaningless for many viewers.
83/100
--Admin-- Violence - Strong, bloody, surreal violence.
Sex/Nudity - Multiple masturbation scenes, one surreal sex scene.
Language - Multiple swear words used.
Miscellaneous Themes - Incredibly intense and disturbing as a whole.
This film is so far from anything else I've seen, in visuals, dialogue, story, characters, structure. The 3:4 aspect ratio coupled with the black and white palette creates a distinct look, allowing the film to detach itself from modern cinema and experiment with visuals. Light has been perfected, and it's used to tell story as much as a conversation or monologue does. Often, there will be stretches of time in which not a single word is said, instead offering imagery for the viewer to discern the story. When speech is used, it's accurate to the time period and heavily accented, making it difficult to tell what is being said, however this poses less of a problem than most films, as dialogue is only a small part of what is needed to understand. Plus, it means the small snippets of speech that you hear are ones that will stick in your mind for days to come. This film is formless, not relying on a simple three-act structure, but rather, creating its own, slow descent of an experience. Every scene is equally gripping as the last, culminating to an ending that will burn itself into your mind. And, it goes without saying that Willem Dafoe's and Robert Pattinson's acting is flawless. The two carry the entire film between them, making you forget they're even actors and not really the characters they play. I'm genuinely excited to see where these two go next.
All of this comes together to create an ascended cinematic experience, and a fantastic technical feat. However, the film's lack of reliance on cinematic norms may make the film almost entirely impenetrable and meaningless for many viewers.
83/100
--Admin-- Violence - Strong, bloody, surreal violence.
Sex/Nudity - Multiple masturbation scenes, one surreal sex scene.
Language - Multiple swear words used.
Miscellaneous Themes - Incredibly intense and disturbing as a whole.