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In their third film together, Reeves and Ryder deliciously chomp through their outrageously snarky dialog, tearing everything and everyone down around them. Frank and Lindsay are too similar to fall for each other, although it's also unlikely that they've connected with anyone for years. The scene in which they analyse each other's physicality is both funny and telling, and oddly sweet in a clinical way, speaking about how attraction has to do with survival, not love. And it works perfectly that the other characters never speak; everything we know about them comes from Frank and Lindsay's insults.

There's an intriguing acknowledgement that despite their grumbling, they actually have easy, comfortable lives. So no one is interested in their problems, Frank observes, because "we're trite, trivial, tiresome, tone-deaf narcissists". This would definitely be the case if these people weren't so funny. And if they didn't have as much effortless chemistry as Reeves and Ryder have. They are enough to hold a movie together, even if it isn't dark enough to be properly cynical or silly enough to elicit a happy sigh.

themes, language, sexuality

23.Apr.19

Shaye shines as Joyce, bringing her usual on-screen complexity to a lead role for a welcome change. She may be clearly unhinged, but the extent of her problems is only revealed gradually, with the occasional psychopathic outburst. The people around her are realistically flawed, haplessly getting a little too close to Joyce without realising that it might not be a great idea. Scenes with both Miller and Rayon are nicely played, especially when they take a chilling turn, which they often do.

The first half of the film is an intriguing exploration of loneliness as compounded by grief. As things begin to turn creepy, Stovall resists the temptation to shift the film into gonzo horror craziness, cleverly building a sinister sense of tension that works because Joyce is so off-balance, Bob is so mysterious and Sarah is so nice. The film's tone does of course go off the rails here and there, but Stovall holds his nerve, keeping things under control right to the abrupt, bitter end.

themes, language, violence

28.Apr.19

Performances are nicely offhanded, placing real people in slightly askew situations. Arquimedes has a superbly loose presence, likeable because he seems rather uneasy wherever he is. In the interrogation room, his evasiveness is funny and prickly, hinting that perhaps all is not as it seems. Other characters are more broadly aggressive, and some are more than a little random, but all very nicely played in ways that increase the mystery, which means that each encounter bounces Josef off in a new direction.

Wollin's filmmaking is gleefully hypnotic, dragging the audience down into a rabbit hole with Josef, twisting and turning in unusual directions. Some of the narrative wrinkles are enjoyably bonkers, while others are just ridiculous. But the freakiness is darkly involving, especially as things shift again in the final 20 minutes. In the end, there are elements in the script that hint at an exploration of identity and sexuality. Even more intriguing is the way the film touches on how we can never quite understand each other. Or ourselves.

themes, language

18.Apr.19