User Reviews

This is coming from someone who enjoys slow burn dramas and character studies, as well as LGBT cinema. The less is more style hindered this so much, and I enjoyed call me by your name.

You get a collection of well shot scenes, with nothing being said. The music worked then it became distracting. Music should match with the scenes. It needs to flow. I get that this isn't expected to be a non stop soap opera show, nor some bubbly teen drama you'd find on Netflix, but I wanted more.

Chloe S. is such a fabulous actor and to see her reduced to almost a caricature is laughable. You never know what her real role is on the base and one doesn't need every meeting showcased, yet we're not given much about her. Same with her out of control son Fraser. We get to the finale and only given a half @&& speech about having a pretend friend..what?! He's clearly been through something traumatic and given no help or guidance for his outbursts.The writer is deluded and pretentious. Can we talk about that concert, horrid singer. My lord. I do not know of how life on a military base works, but I do know for certain that these kids wouldn't get a free pass as they do. This isn't Skins. No high ranking officer/parent would allow their young child to hit them without consequences ever. It just doesn't happen.

The kids cause prob 30k worth of damage to a house in an episode and there's zero repercussions for it. No one communicates like a human here. People act out towards one another and everyone just sits there and practically shrugs their shoulders at times, same with adults. They only get emotional when the script/scene requires it. Brittany being low key into Caitlin should've been built up more. It comes out of nowhere. Richard clashing with Wilson had about one scene before his outburst, rushed and only there to continue the plot. Danny wishes to convert to Islam This is explored about five minutes before it is Dismissed

Caitlin seems to be the only one with a character arc here with Fraser tagging along to an awkward finale. Fraser flaps his arms, has no filter and dresses like Andy Warhol, that's it; no depth. This type of writing drives me mad. Having no explanation doesn't make it smart. It makes it frustrating.

Other shows at least imply things. I'm all for subtext and what isn't on screen. But there is simply nothing to grasp from these people. It's almost alien.

Jonathan is a predator; plain and simple. The kid needed a role model and comfort. Jonathan saw it as a challenge for his ways. He should've known better and I wished for Sarah to come out of her head and get him off the base. He deserved it way more than Richard. The director seems to fetishize this kind of relationship here. If Fraser was the same age, it would've been more of a boundary issue. Here its not ok, he is 14; a child. I think Luca needs to be educated on when people emotionally and physically mature. Because it's not even close at that age. He seems to relish in it. Oh isn't that cute? No. It's not cute sir, I felt ill when him and his gf straight up made moves on Fraser.

8 episodes seem to be a very long extension of the first one. The writers/directors arrogance will not bring them a second season I feel. I went from being enthralled to grossly disappointed with this show.

Dear Luca D, get a grip and stop encouraging this kind of predatory behavior. Have consequences for your characters, structure. If you want things to be presented as a "dream." Then turn it into a fantasy show; it would suit everyone much better. This is far from reality.

"We Are Who We Are" (2020 release; 8 episodes of about 60 min. each) brings the story of Fraser. As Episode 1 "Right Here, Right Now" opens, we are at an airport in Italy, where Fraser, a high school kid, and his parents (Sarah and Maggie) are being picked up and taken to a US military base. We later learn that Sarah is taking over command of the garrison. Upon arriving at their new home, Fraser is bored and goes out exploring the base and the Italian town... At this point we are 10 min. into Episode 1, but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this is the latest from Italian writer-producer-director Luca Guadagnino, who a couple of years ago brought us the Oscar-nominated "Call Me By Your Name". Here he continues in that very same vein: a high school kid lands in a new environment (moving from NW to Italy), and needs to adjust in his new setting. In fact, it is striking to see a number parallels there are between "Call Me By Your Name" and "We Are Who We Are"> Seeing the Fraser character (played by Jack Dylan Grazer) immediately made me think of Timothée Chalamet, who plays the lead in "Call Me By Your Name". The setting in Italy. The theme of "finding yourself". And so on. Chloë Sevigny plays tough-as-nails Sarah, and Alice Braga plays Maggie. Apart from all that, there were several things in how Episode 1 played out that I found highly implausible, and I'm going to keep my eye on how future episodes deal with them. The biggest challenge will be to see how the Fraser character evolves in future episodes. As it is (in Episode 1), he is a self-absorbed little brat, and hence not very likable.

"We Are Who We Are" premiered earlier this week on HBO and is now available on HBO On Demand and other streaming services. New episodes air on Mondays 10 pm Eastern. Bottom line: if you liked "Call Me By Your Name", you will almost certainly also like "We Are Who We Are. Of course I encourage you to check it out, and draw your own conclusion.

The parts I liked- 1. Atmospheric cinematography 2. Portrayal of teenage emotions 3. Lgbtq+ representation

The parts I didn't like- 1. Lack of a strong conclusion for the story 2. Lack of accountability for actions

This show felt like watching different memories of a group of people living in the same environment - a military base. I've never been on military-based colonies but I do know about corporate employment-based colonies. And the way these teenagers are never held accountable for their actions is bonkers. The main character is hurtful to his mother, the group 2x go to a luxury house and break it apart. I listened to Luca's vision for the house. That house was supposed to be Eden's garden where those teenagers are fully themselves without any filters. I adored the representation of emotions. The confusion regarding one's sexuality and preferences, inner dialogues of a teenager during social interactions with family and friends.

But when these kinds of heavy topics are discussed, the creators have to understand that being realistic is very important. Those teenagers in the name of exploring their sadness and emotions were putting their lives and the lives of their parents into grave danger and they faced no repercussions for it.

I had this theory that the main character was suffering with may be undiagnosed autism or something similar, but no explanation was given. Series touched on many topics like The other black family was showcased as Republican supporters (which was a very interesting choice, especially around US-elections), the story of a religious mother with homosexuality, the story of estrangement of a father-step son, exploring Islam, all of this has so much potential. But none of the concepts were not explained further. I've very conflicted thoughts.

The trailer intrigued me so much. No doubt the visuals and camera work are beautiful and the plot had some potential... but the script, characters, and younger actors are pretty bad.

Fraser is an awful character... the first episode was so hard to get through. He is so unlikable (abusive to his mom and a try hard). The pacing of the first episode also felt so slow. The second episode was really good as it focused on cate and her family. Cate's family dynamic is the only one that feels real... all the other relationships ( Fraser and his moms, the friend group, cate and Fraser) feel unnatural and forced. The parents acting are perfection but the younger actors aren't too good. Cate and Fraser are pretty good, but obviously nepotism helped Francesca Scorsese get the role of Britney. Her acting is so bad. Also have issues with a lot of unrealistic stuff, specifically Cate's period scene... periods don't just stop as soon as they start... they last 3-7 days.