Two disclaimers; I saw this film a month or so ago and found it politely fine with many plusses, but more than a few issues and flaws, but it was by no means cracking my top 20 of the year (in fact it currently resides around 31) hence… I didn’t feel the need to spend 800 or so words on it. However the film is now a multi-Oscar nominated feature and so in typical fashion I find that I must now put fingers to keys and pen some fashion of review. Also second disclaimer, despite this films run-time being close to three hours, the only screening I could get to prior to departing for the seas once more was one that would conclude around 1:00am… so that may have impacted my viewing – however Lord knows that there are a litany of other viewing experiences that did not (that dreaded word) bored me as much as this did.
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But of course this is a film of three acts and so your milage may vary act to act, as it most certainly did in my case. For me the first act was by far the weakest, despite a great opening scene, in complete honesty it just left me a little flat heading into the second and third act. The first act which focusses on the relationship between our two central figures of a pair of celebrity models played by Harris Dickinson and Charlbi Dean. The dialogue in here is stale and perfectly judged for what it is, it’s all just empty table setting for two characters who we eventually come to find are in actuality a part of a far larger ensemble and do not remain the focal point for the whole film. In this first act writer and director Ruben Ostlund does a fine job of setting up these two characters and Dickinson and Dean both do great work in their performances, as they do naturally for the rest of the film. The issue for me just lies in the fact that it’s not very enticing, especially when we get to the films centre piece second act set aboard the luxury yacht that the film presents itself to be about. Onboard here the dynamics and characters are all pitch perfect. Every scene is judged perfectly and Ostlund’s direction and writing is superb, this act also boasts some of the best physical comedy and practical effects work I’ve seen in a while, despite my usual rejection of such bodily focussed scenes and the like. This is where we become introduced to other such characters beyond Dickinson and Dean, such as a great turn by Zlatko Buric aswell as Woody Harrelson as the Captain. It is here where the film grows more and more literal and on the nose, which is not exactly a bad thing because the film of course makes a blatant statement about juxtaposing these complete political speeches with full blown toilet humour, and it’s also all not un-interesting, albeit on the nose it still is.
From the highs
of the second act, the film then finds its third act, which again due to the
films completely overlong running time, by the time we go there despite its
quality and interesting conceit, I was very much ready for the film to be over.
I have no issue with a film being long, it’s the sort of thing I love when I’m
enjoying it, but when a film is not grabbing an individual and is overlong,
then the experience can grow infuriating. I really do feel my enjoyment of this
film would be far increased by the editing or removal of the entire first act
and a slight trim of the second and third. The third is so distinctly different
that it offers its own enjoyment, but it’s biggest attribute may very well be
the entire films biggest attribute, bar its sensationally constructed toilet
based sequence; that of the performance of Dolly De Leon as Abigail. A
performance so well judged and so enjoyable that again it in many ways works in
the films disfavour as one can’t help but wonder where she was throughout and
why she couldn’t have made an appearance sooner. Overall Ostlund has made
another funny, dry and enjoyable film, however this one really is desperately
drawn out and does suffer for it.
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A deeply overlong 6/10 whose successes are all on display and are all very successful, but whose dependence on an overlong run-time and an uneven three act structure leads one to favour elements and sequences and characters rather than enjoy the film as cohesive whole. It’s not that the film is bad, nor is it not that the film features many great turns, it’s just quite frankly that the film and its director – for lack of a better way to say it – keeps getting in the way of itself.
P.S. But the joy of movies of course is that I’ve already talked with three different people and found three very different rankings of the three different acts; the big thing for me is that these discussions just didn’t really spark much interest for me… at the end of the day I just don’t see the draw on this one folks.
- - Thomas Carruthers
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