Unlike all of the other movies I’m reviewing today, this one is still in (very few) theaters. It will be a couple months before anyone can rent it but I would really recommend that. I think this is the kind-of movie that plays best at home for four or five bucks instead of in a theater for ten or twelve.
The movie is about a working class family man in Georgia (wonderfully played by Michael Shannon) who starts having bad dreams about tragic events coming. Is he losing his grip on sanity or is the danger real?
What Works: I love that the plot is a real allegory for what’s happening all across America right now, and it’s the perfect suspense film for a country afraid the best days might be over and dark times are creeping up. And it’s one of the very few Southern-set films I’ve seen that feels authentic. No overt quirkiness, no Civil War re-enactors, no goofy Mayberry set humor, just plain, casually God fearin’ people feeling the creep of poverty, sickness, and storms on the horizon. And as I mentioned before, Michael Shannon is great in the lead role. In a perfect world, he’d sneak onto the Best Actor nominee list at this year’s Oscars. [Breakout actress of the year, Jessica Chastain, is also strong as his gradually more worried wife.]
What Doesn’t Work: As I hinted at before, the movie does feel a little small for the theater, and I really think the movie will be best viewed at home. Also, the ending is ambiguous and endlessly debatable (some swear it’s not ambiguous at all…you really could debate it for hours) so be prepared for that.
What I Would Have Done Differently: Why be bitchy about a movie I’m pretty sure will wind up in my top 20 of the year list? I could say “Trim five minutes here,” or “Change this aspect of the ending” there but why? After reviewing four movies today that did have real problems, why look for them in a movie that doesn’t?