I have to call this a dark comedy, but so dark (in a way) that it's painful to laugh at. The inanity of most of the characters, other than the central team of honest (but far from perfect) scientists, is so extreme that it is tempting to just throw in the towel and say "this is silly" - but it is so convincingly done that you can't. You don't want to believe that almost any of the scenes could ever happen, but you can't quite deny that they could.
The characters are a wild mix, but they are all well done. Some of them seem so normal that you think "wait, that one doesn't belong in this story." Jonah Hill's character is so despicable, and Mark Rylance's so fake-spiritual, as to be painful to watch; it has to be intentional that each scene with them is brief, allowing some respite. Almost every little scene pushes the limits of credibility, yet it hangs together. The story continually oscillates from outrageous to poignant, to witty, with occasional moments of "oh, now we're going to see some common sense take hold." But it doesn't.
The characters are a wild mix, but they are all well done. Some of them seem so normal that you think "wait, that one doesn't belong in this story." Jonah Hill's character is so despicable, and Mark Rylance's so fake-spiritual, as to be painful to watch; it has to be intentional that each scene with them is brief, allowing some respite. Almost every little scene pushes the limits of credibility, yet it hangs together. The story continually oscillates from outrageous to poignant, to witty, with occasional moments of "oh, now we're going to see some common sense take hold." But it doesn't.
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