First, I really wanted to like this movie. I am a huge Allison Janney fan, but even she could not pull off this mess of a movie.
It is shot almost entirely in the dark and in the rain and often you can't see a thing going on. When it's not almost pitch black, the light is so low you still can't see well. So watching a movie shot mostly in almost no to very little light is not an enjoyable experience.
Then there is Smollett. She is abysmal in this. Her acting is flat and dull. She says her lines like she is reading them off a page. Truly bad acting and very poor casting.
Speaking of poor casting, I hate to say it but I feel the usually great Janney was a poor choice for this role. And quite frankly, her acting didn't seem up to par either.
Then there is the plot. It never comes off as believable. Too contrived and too poorly written an acted. There is little to no build-up of character development so for much of this movie we have no idea what is driving some of the characters. I guess they were going for suspense, but it backfired in a big way. Instead we feel blind-sided to learn that the abductor is Janney's son and that he wants to kill his mother, ex-wife and his little daughter. Worse, we learn everything at once. So instead of getting bits and pieces of the story dolled out to us as it develops, we feel confused in the beginning with no clue what is driving the characters to suddenly having it all dumped in our lap at once.
And I have to say, watching a mother and son beat the crap out of each other and try to kill each other is not exactly movie entertainment. It is uncomfortable and unpleasant to watch.
Bottom line? The whole movie is really just a train wreck. I wouldn't recommend it and I for sure won't watch it twice.
It is shot almost entirely in the dark and in the rain and often you can't see a thing going on. When it's not almost pitch black, the light is so low you still can't see well. So watching a movie shot mostly in almost no to very little light is not an enjoyable experience.
Then there is Smollett. She is abysmal in this. Her acting is flat and dull. She says her lines like she is reading them off a page. Truly bad acting and very poor casting.
Speaking of poor casting, I hate to say it but I feel the usually great Janney was a poor choice for this role. And quite frankly, her acting didn't seem up to par either.
Then there is the plot. It never comes off as believable. Too contrived and too poorly written an acted. There is little to no build-up of character development so for much of this movie we have no idea what is driving some of the characters. I guess they were going for suspense, but it backfired in a big way. Instead we feel blind-sided to learn that the abductor is Janney's son and that he wants to kill his mother, ex-wife and his little daughter. Worse, we learn everything at once. So instead of getting bits and pieces of the story dolled out to us as it develops, we feel confused in the beginning with no clue what is driving the characters to suddenly having it all dumped in our lap at once.
And I have to say, watching a mother and son beat the crap out of each other and try to kill each other is not exactly movie entertainment. It is uncomfortable and unpleasant to watch.
Bottom line? The whole movie is really just a train wreck. I wouldn't recommend it and I for sure won't watch it twice.