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Post by dadsburgers on Feb 28, 2021 4:53:54 GMT
I had put off watching this for a week because honestly I thought watching it alone in my living room, I'd get bored and distracted with it. I was kind of expecting to be disappointed because the hype is so high but wow, is it deserved! I found this movie so life-affirming and beautiful. Frances McDormand was incredible, she seems to only get more impressive with age. I think she deserves the Oscar, even if it is her third; they gave her husband four! It fully deserves its status as BP frontrunner and BD shoe-in; it would make another really wonderful winner.
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Post by DeepArcher on Feb 28, 2021 6:27:11 GMT
Liked this, probably around the same level as The Rider where I'm not as overwhelmed by it as some but definitely enjoyed it. Genuinely think that McDormand is the only famous person who could've pulled off this role and have it not be an eyeroll-inducing monstrosity ... it's a tremendous performance. Again, didn't find this earth-shatteringly profound or anything, there's some forced moments for sure, but definitely at its most powerful when it lets the imagery convey its ideas. And needles to say that's some beautiful footage they captured.
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Post by Viced on Feb 28, 2021 23:27:04 GMT
Brutally depressing and repetitive slog tbh.
The improvisational realism that made The Rider (and to a lesser extent, Songs My Brother Taught Me) hit so hard really didn't do much for me here. There are a few beautiful moments (the early scene around the campfire, Fern near the water, final scene with Bob Wells), but overall this felt like a journey with no destination.
But Fran totally disappeared into the role... kind of insane how she was able to make this so real. The underrated legend David Strathairn can do 'down-to-earth (mostly) normal guy' better than pretty much anyone (see: Passion Fish, Limbo, etc.) and he brought a lot to his performance while making it look effortless.
Overall, a mixed bag. A lot to admire, but didn't add up to as much as I was hoping it would.
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Javi
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Post by Javi on Mar 2, 2021 5:46:09 GMT
Pains me to say this as a The Rider fan, but this felt disappointingly phony... hard to watch and not in the way that's intended. Zhao gives up not just on dramatization but imagination, too. Frances McDormand walks around looking impressively destroyed, except when she engages in nomad chatter and is "purified" by their wisdom. But seriously--there's a whiff of bad taste to the whole thing: the age-old Hollywood soul-searching (and this is a Hollywood movie) as social tourism. The movie feels like one big setup. As a documentary hybrid on the nomad phenomenon, it leaves a lot to be desired. Who are these folks? We're repeatedly told they're "one with nature". In what way? And on to more mundane things: how do they pass the time when boredom strikes? What music do they listen to? The only music you'll get here is the violins when McDormand hugs a tree or stares at a cliff (pained attempts at lyricism). And as a work of fiction, it can't decide whether it wants to be a hymn to the nomads or a dirge. The overall effect is of having attended a stranger's funeral... depressing for all the wrong reasons. Curious as to its BP prospects. It's duller, slower, uglier than Roma... But it does have Frances McDormand.
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Post by stabcaesar on Mar 2, 2021 7:06:57 GMT
It's duller, slower, uglier than Roma... But it does have Frances McDormand. Sums it up perfectly tbh, except I was never on the McDormand love train (even if I do find her pretty strong here). Actually I feel like Sissy Spacek could've played the part and gotten that second Oscar. The role is tailor-made for her. It's a shame that she doesn't get many offers these days. Edit: I would love to see Holly Hunter playing Fern as well.
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Post by stephen on Mar 2, 2021 22:34:17 GMT
It's duller, slower, uglier than Roma... But it does have Frances McDormand. Sums it up perfectly tbh, except I was never on the McDormand love train (even if I do find her pretty strong here). Actually I feel like Sissy Spacek could've played the part and gotten that second Oscar. The role is tailor-made for her. It's a shame that she doesn't get many offers these days. Edit: I would love to see Holly Hunter playing Fern as well. Sissy, Holly, even Sally Field would've all been very fine picks who could've brought different energies and elements to the character and it still be effective.
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Post by stabcaesar on Mar 4, 2021 2:56:26 GMT
Sissy, Holly, even Sally Field would've all been very fine picks who could've brought different energies and elements to the character and it still be effective. And it's sad that they didn't get to. McDormand's career is doing great but theirs isn't. Esp. Sissy who hasn't done anything since The Old Man & the Gun.
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Post by ibbi on Mar 6, 2021 19:32:13 GMT
FUCK YOU HAMILTON YOU CUNT THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! LET’S DIG HIM UP AND SHOOT HIM AGAIN!
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Post by ireallyamsomething on Mar 31, 2021 5:54:59 GMT
I haven't seen it mentioned much but did anyone think that the difference in the acting by Frances McDormand (who was stellar) and the non-actors took them out of it a bit? I admire the approach but the stark difference distracted me. Wish I'd have liked it more.
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Post by mhynson27 on Mar 31, 2021 6:17:38 GMT
I haven't seen it mentioned much but did anyone think that the difference in the acting by Frances McDormand (who was stellar) and the non-actors took them out of it a bit? I admire the approach but the stark difference distracted me. Wish I'd have liked it more. Not all. I thought all the non-actors did a great job, and brought a whole new level of authenticity and grounded realism to the project, which I greatly appreciated.
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Film Socialism
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Post by Film Socialism on Mar 31, 2021 17:39:40 GMT
a totally nothing of a film. it's really disappointing to see zhao go from genuine independent greatness to whatever this is to capeshit within 3 movies. anyways yeah it sucks as drama, sucks as slow cinema, and is only occasionally interesting as verite ig.
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Film Socialism
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Post by Film Socialism on Mar 31, 2021 17:40:40 GMT
I haven't seen it mentioned much but did anyone think that the difference in the acting by Frances McDormand (who was stellar) and the non-actors took them out of it a bit? I admire the approach but the stark difference distracted me. Wish I'd have liked it more. i actually felt the opposite, i thought the nomads were much more believable. probably bc they didn't have to act much.
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Post by ireallyamsomething on Mar 31, 2021 18:00:22 GMT
I haven't seen it mentioned much but did anyone think that the difference in the acting by Frances McDormand (who was stellar) and the non-actors took them out of it a bit? I admire the approach but the stark difference distracted me. Wish I'd have liked it more. i actually felt the opposite, i thought the nomads were much more believable. probably bc they didn't have to act much. Not saying the nomads weren't believable. Just felt that the two different styles (narrative fiction/documentary) didn't mesh too well. Or maybe it was just a mood thing that could improve upon a rewatch (though I'm not that keen on revisiting it soon).
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Film Socialism
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Post by Film Socialism on Mar 31, 2021 19:10:05 GMT
i actually felt the opposite, i thought the nomads were much more believable. probably bc they didn't have to act much. Not saying the nomads weren't believable. Just felt that the two different styles (narrative fiction/documentary) didn't mesh too well. Or maybe it was just a mood thing that could improve upon a rewatch (though I'm not that keen on revisiting it soon). oh yeah i can see what you mean - there is a definite disconnect there
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avnermoriarti
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Post by avnermoriarti on Mar 31, 2021 21:21:13 GMT
I haven't seen it mentioned much but did anyone think that the difference in the acting by Frances McDormand (who was stellar) and the non-actors took them out of it a bit? I admire the approach but the stark difference distracted me. Wish I'd have liked it more. Not in this particular case because imo it's very self-concious move from the get-go, maybe it was an advantage to know that's how Zhao work, and I think McDormand did a pretty good job to be engaged in what the nomads were saying, there are other factors that distracted me but not the acting.
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Post by Martin Stett on Dec 14, 2021 0:17:32 GMT
I'm not sure if I've ever seen a movie so consciously saying nothing in a narrative that demands that it say something. It is completely toothless, refusing to say anything about politics or any of the people Fran meets. They're practically NPCs in a video game, standing still in one spot to give a bit of lore or world development, but not graced with any free will of their own to tell their own forward-moving narratives. And Fern is a big nothingburger of a character herself. Look at Rosetta, with its firebrand of a character living in a trailer park and showing her passion and despair in every action, where each scene has a major effect on the next because she is so fiercely involved in what happens. Now look at Fern, who is a blank slate walking in front of pretty pictures. Nothing in this movie actually affects her in any way. She *develops* over the course of the movie, supposedly... but if we take any one scene out of context and examine it, I really don't think we'll find anything that informs what Fern will do in the next scene.
Also, the movie isn't even that pretty. How did Zhao go from The Rider to this?
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Post by PromNightCarrie on Dec 16, 2021 14:13:21 GMT
Oh boy. I don't know if it's because I have not been a big movie watcher in a good while, so I lack the attention span and patience I once had, but I just can not get through this movie. I don't know how you did it. I can't recall a film dragging this much. And I thought I could watch Frances McDormand in anything. I tried.
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Pasquale
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Post by Pasquale on Dec 21, 2021 23:26:05 GMT
Meta stuff
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