Oh boy... This movie is the very definition of a train wreck. Starts just like another day down the line, ends in an ugly and utterly incomprehensible catastrophe.
For the 1st act, the movie was awesome. The world building is so good that at some point I almost questioned myself if the "Night Owls" show was based on anything real (not in a generic way, but some specific show that actually existed IRL). David Dastmalchian gives us an amolst palpable Jack, the show's host, despite the cliché tropes you might expect from a Mr. Good Guy who becomes involved with media and its cruelty ("Its all about the sponsors, the audience ratings, the show MUST go on").
The second act ramps up the speed and acceleration curve in a very good pace. The interview with Mr. Wriggles is AWESOME. All kudos to Ingrid Torelli (Lilly), who delivers a very good performance. The weirdness, the hatred embedded in the tone and gaze, the irony that only those in full control of the situation can appreciate. Her acting is GOOD from the moment she sets foot on the stage, but VERY underrated by the directors / script writers (who, if you didn't notice, are the same guys). And the transition to the third act is where this movie runs through a wall, smashes its face to it and still continues, top speed until it completely derails in a fraction of a second (minor spoilers ahead).
Third act is completely over the top. From the moment the ghost hand comes in over Jack's shoulder all the way until the end, everything is way too much. Lilly suddenly becomes an almighty entity, throwing lightnings through her hands, twisting necks from afar, levitating people to the air, melting people to the ground... That is NOT "the Devil", that is Palpatine, for Reagan's sake... And Jack's conclusion arc... URGH bad. Dastmalchian continues to deliver his best with what he has at hands, but the script just ruined everything. I give one extra point to the direction and their decision to turn this complete mess into something that resembles analog horror, but I take it back because they didn't want to let you know they were taking any sort of influence from YT channels. The result is, again, a mess, you can't understand what the heck you are watching (is this being broadcast? just in Jacks head? WTF is going on?). The movie ends in the best WYSIWYG way: "What You See Is What You Get". Deal with it.
Overall, if you have nothing better to do, dive in. Its well acted and well directed, and overall very well produced, despite the script's mess. If you are looking for something a little more exhilarating, maybe a rerun of The Exorcist would be a better choice...
Stop feeding that dog. Its gonna keep coming back expecting more. It just gives her hope.
Far from a simple debut for Dev Patel, this movie will be on my memory for a long time. This is a breath of fresh air over the so beaten up action movie genre. Here you will not find a bulked bulky manly male, capable of fighting an army without a single scratch. Instead, you will find a sensitive, hurt, sad man, who can see the grand scheme of things, but fails to understand his own role in the whole mess, so he simply STFU and moves on with the roles that life will present to him, while dreaming of some day achieving his goals (much like every ordinary man nowadays, if you ask me: hurt, lost, unable to deal with his feelings, raging war against shadows because of that).
It is impossible not to see some influences, especially John Wick as many have pointed out. But it stops at that: influence (mostly in regards of the fighting scenes and some visuals) and that is it. Although the movie may seem "formulaic" at first, give it a second thought, pay closer attention to the details and the background. The story being told here is much deeper than a simple "revenge movie" as it may seem on the surface.
The opening quotation above is one of the most interesting scenes I have seen here. So much is told with so little, there is a lot of subtext in such a small, simple scene. Up to this scene, it is almost impossible to say if Monkey Man was looking at the woman or his nemesis, romanticaly interested or studying his next move. The second time the Monkey Man goes into the penthouse and sees the same woman with the policeman, a very known music starts playing in the background: Roxanne by, not ironically, The Police. Although the song depicts a man who falls in love with a prostitute and wants to "save" her from this life, later we see that the Monkey Man has a much greater goal than just simply "save the girl" or "avenge his mother".
When he gets to the temple, he meets Alpha, his savior (who, pay attention, is "male and female; neither and both" - "Alpha", commonly associated with the most masculine attributes in the '4chan redpill groups', here is a transgender woman). Alpha then leads the Monkey to "remember who you are". Later, the Monkey returns her the favor after giving them the money to save the temple (a note reading "Time to remember who YOU are"). This is what will lead to the hijras in assisting the Monkey at the end: "We [the hijras] were warriors before they drove us here", told him Alpha, and after remembering that, the hijras took arms and helped him with his plot. When the prostitute also comes to his aid, he barely looks into her eyes, not because he doesn't feel anything, but because he cannot stop a bigger plan because of a romantic interest. Also, when confronting Shakti, the Monkey only asks two questions: "Do you even know my mother's name? Do you know any of their names?". It may all have started because of his mother, but his goals were political, rather than simple revenge.
Yes, the movie is filled with political analysis and criticism, and heavy doses of social commentary, all boiled up the ultimate level: the personal level. And that is the point of the movie. Politics IS personal. Society IS personal. Both affect our lives from macro to micro cosmos, so the macro should also be affected by the micro cosmos, even if a single man needs to start a revolution. But above all, the movie is a kick in already hurt manhoods out there: the silent type is not strong alone, and can only achieve his goals with the aid of women, be them cis or trans. Deal with that, macho.
All your life you have been fighting to feel pain. You need to fight for a purpose. Fight... for all of us.
This might not be everyone's cup of tea.
For the most part, the movie is "silent" (if much, there are two lines of dialogue), the story is told through the scenario, the actions and the very well acted reactions. Ambient sound and music are both VERY IMPORTANT to tell the story as well, so if you are watching at home (as I did), do yourself a favour and use headphones, if possible.
Where the movie falls flat to its face IMO is at its attempt of a social commentary. Minor spoilers ahead.
The central idea of the movie is social relationships, social isolation and the issues extreme isolation can bring. By giving the main character a rather stupid reason for the isolation (the very cliché "I killed a loved one by accident now everyone - including myself - hates me", just to subvert the "accident" idea at the end), the movie makes the character immediately unrelatable: such an uncommon situation cannot be related at all. However, the sense of isolation is there and is very well depicted, and this CAN be related to. But after showing us how her neighbours and acquaintaces from the town all despise her, to the point of spitting to her face, the ending gets completely outrageous. Why, for all that is sacred, would she decide to "join" the goddamn community after all she has been through while they were still humans? It makes zero sense, and I am the guy who has social anxiety and lives isolated for years now. I may feel like I do not belong to the "normal humans" community (not because I'm not human, but because I'm not "normal"), yet I would never sacrifice my own self, my consciousness, to join a community of alien invaders. No one would.
Despite all that, the movie is a fun ride. The direction is very competent, especially with the "no dialog" challenge. As a movie, is a good one, you will find it entertaining. As a communication media though, it fails. Miserably. So turn off your brain if you want to watch this one. And enjoy.
Total 6/10
- Direction 3/5
- Acting 3.5/5
- Script or story 1.5/5
- VFX 2/5
- SFX 4/5
- Music 4/5
Brilliant! This is a masterpiece. Every single aspect of the movie, from the script to the acting and the direction, from photography to make up, from VFX to OST, absolutely EVERYTHING is so well thought, so well made, the passion of everyone involved is palpable. This movie is a heartwarming piece for every fan of the seventh art. While Hollywood nowadays is all about the technique, the technology, techie this techy that, this movie takes it from the heart. A fable so well told it will stick with you for quite some time. A magical, mystical yet so scary world that you can almost smell from your seat, depicted in many delicate yet gruesome details...
THIS, ladies and gentleman, is pure ART. This is what cinema is about.
Now, if you didn't watch it yet, stop reading this and treat yourself the pleasure. You won't regret.
Even struggling with the notion as I am right now, I would put this on the same shelf as Mother! and Black Swan. This is by far the most ambitious piece of work of Charlie Kaufman. Sometimes, there are so many things happening on the screen, and they are all so subtle and transmit so many different messages, the spectator may get lost. The movie reminds you on key moments that this is a movie you are seeing, not real memories or happenings. It takes some time to criticise itself on screen during the play, acknowledging it's own limitations as media while, at the same time, building up characters and the story. Whoever is unfamiliar with most of the film criticism language may not realise that and this part gets lost. However, this won't stop the spectator from creating theories as to what the fudge is going on, which is so by design.
The plot is so simple and the key to its full comprehension is at the title, bear that in mind. However, we as creatures are not simple. Our minds are complex palaces of memories, feelings, imagination and dreams. The movie depicts this Mind Palace perfectly, going back and forth in time and space, through reality and dream, feelings and reason, on the most perfect pace I've seen so far on screen (let alone David Lynch's Mulholland Drive). What is memory and what is imagination is a question that will stick with you until the end, and the answer is not pleasing to understand, although simple.
So, to sum it up, this is certainly not the average Joe's cup of tea. If you don't want to dive into the abyss of mind, get away from this. But if you decide to take a leap into this void, relax and stop struggling is the movie's main message, which, by itself, may be the hardest thing to do in this life...
What is the purpose of a movie? Well, you can name a few: to tell a story, to give a lesson, to send a message, to show you something you wouldn't get to see on a daily basis, to provoke a feeling, etc.. Some movies have more than one purpose, some other purposes are not listed here (of course).
Borgman fails. It fails in any purpose at all, unless the purpose is to make you think about the movie itself. It tells no story, at least not in the strict sense of "story", so it is not a drama. It has no moral at the end, so it is not a fable. It won't creep you that much (if you are used to watching horror movies, expect no chills and no jumpscares). There is no relief nor release at any point, things just happen and hang you in the expectation something significant will happen, but it never comes. You can't identify with any character at all, they are all too apathetic or simply too shallow for someone to have any sympathy for them.
The only thing Borgman made me think of is Borgman itself and I mean the movie, not the character. What is the point of making a movie? What is it's purpose? This movie apparently has none. Unless I am too stupid to understand anything, but (in my understanding) if you must have a PhD to understand/enjoy a movie, that movie failed.
The only thing Borgman made me feel is boredom. And regret. Maybe I'm too insensitive, maybe hours and hours of terrible horror movies made me too cold, but everything is so surreal that... "Nah, this would never happen" is the only thought I had in my mind throughout the entire experience (and I rate "Gerald's Game" 9 stars).
It deserves 3 stars for photography, make-up and direction. If you want to jump in, be my guest, but be warned: you'll regret the time you sit and watch this.
