When it comes to dark and disturbing films, I don’t have a bank for it, because I make it a point of duty not to see dark or horrific films if I can help it. But I came across this film on one of those Sundays when you visit friends and loved ones. I sat with the other young adults and was prepared for a good time. If you know the film I speak of, then you can guess that I came to regret that choice for a very long time.
What’s the best way to tell the storyline of this film? I do know that it is a movie adaptation of the book written by Donald Pollock with the same name. Directed by Antonio Campos, this film features the stories of several characters who are situated in two towns: Western Virginia and Southern Ohio. From World War II to the 1960s, these stories have a life of their own that soon weave to become one grim tale that will leave you on the edge of your seat for all the wrong reasons.
I found it a challenge to give a premise to this story, even when I had to rewatch the trailer. It’s that kind of story that tells nothing and everything at the same time. Too deep for words and definitely too deep to be properly explained. It’s crazy because I would usually opt for light-hearted films. But I sat through three quarters of two hours for this film because I needed to know how it would all end. How the knots would eventually tie themselves together.
I was awed by the excellent acting in this film. It was amazing associating the actors I know with the roles they played in this film. Tom Holland as Spiderman is something we think of each time we hear Tom Holland. Good-natured, soft-spoken, predictable, understandable. Same goes for Robert Pattinson, Bill Skarsgard and Sebastian Stan. But these people were none of what or how we formerly knew them. They were scary, crazy, and extremely vile. And to me, their roles in this film can be voted as the best performance any of them has ever given in a film.
The themes of this movie are too brutal and disturbing even for the firm-hearted. If you can survive through the first forty-five minutes, you may actually come to like it, but getting there may prove a challenge. It is incredibly dark and gritty, but it stays true to the stories and experiences of the cast. And I guess that’s one of the few things that endeared me to the movie. I enjoy films that feature separate characters with separate stories who all end up tied together at some point in the story. It makes for a truly intriguing watch as exemplified here.
This film is not perfect by any means. There are the regular plot holes, unnecessary scenes and characters, and most of all, the visits of the dark and grim side of religion, which I try to avoid when I can. Maybe I’m jelly-spined, but it is a lot to handle, especially with the overly gruesome scenes which seem to be done just for the sake of it and not because they would add any real value to the plot. But it is quite easy to forgive whatever loopholes or flaws this film has because of just how entertaining it is.
If you can sit through this piece, you may be silent and petrified for quite a while, as I was when I was done. Nevertheless, I would rate this film as one of the best productions of 2020. A cinematic masterpiece by all counts. What are your thoughts?
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