exceptionally well-directed and well-filmed. maybe a bit too perfect, too “film school”, but done with skill and heart and better than most directors will ever be (much less for a debut).
Feel-Good Romp, not so much.
cute premise, and some good performances, but incongruous music, poor pacing, and an awkward narrative made it just “okay” for me.
like being trapped in a closet with a violent, clearly insane alcoholic for 3 hours. Daniel Day-Lewis was too convincing for this to have been a pleasant experience for me, but the depth of artistry and power can’t be disputed. I hope he uses that Oscar to make a movie about fluffy bunnies and orphans catching rainbows, because i fully regret seeing this.
like an episode of X-Files, if it had been an HBO show instead of Fox. terrific performances across the board, nothing flashy or obnoxious. plot and pacing is more like a crime drama, like “Gone Baby Gone” than typical X-Files, which really worked for me. i didn’t realize how much i missed these characters until i saw them again.
massively formative for me as a teenager, and this shit holds up really well, too. perhaps a bit too…flattering of a biopic, but Dian Fossey was amazing so who cares if you wanna kiss her posthumous ass a bit?
a helluva thing, this is. realistic and low-key, and yet somehow totally fascinating, trying to figure out who these people are and how they got that way. i’m not sure how it avoids being heavy and overwrought (which is what i thought it would be like), but it does. literally my only complaint is the guy playing Rachel’s fiance. he was totally blank and dull and i couldn’t figure out what Rosemarie DeWitt was supposed to see in him.
great concept, stellar actors, and just a neat, different take on vampires. not at all “scary”, unless you count an EXTREMELY unfortunate bit of CGI that is just criminal.
that said, it IS a Scandinavian movie; it’s gonna be heavy, uneven, everyone will be dressed like they’re homeless, and it’ll feel 20% longer than it actually is.
so like, not a feel-good romp, so much. compelling and awful.
the animation is unique and absorbing, with terrific music. the animation helps draw you in to something you might not otherwise want to watch with both eyes open – although they’re not above sucker-punching you by dropping the most horrifying visuals in your lap with newsreel footage at the last. very effective.
a beautiful and important movie that i will never see again.