There was potential in the themes and statements that this film wanted to touch on, pedophile-victim relationships, suicide, monogamy, family relations, but I think that the "thematic bag" of this film was filled a little too high for these filmmakers to be able to have a profound statement about any of them. Visualize setting up all of the pins and knocking down none of them...
Or maybe it was that the director and the editors directed and cut the film in such a forced way to make the film dip into far too many "indie" tropes, like the bonding over a duet of a song. Yikes. I cringed. The flashbacks of them as children seemed like superficial indie tropes too. Maggie as a child swimming in a pool had nothing to do with her scuba diving or suicidal thoughts of drowning herself, so why were they in the movie?? Was it to connect visceral images of childhood to these suicidal protagonists to further our empathy for them? Seemed like a desperate and shallow move or something, I dunno. I also, felt that the soundtrack and the way it was used was just so typically, "indieeeeee".
Or the problem could have been in the writing! The halloween scene where the twins are drinking beers reminiscing about their childhood just drags on. The content of their conversation alienated me because there was literally nothing to relate to in what they were talking. It was all about these random people from their childhood and these random stories about those people that had nothing to do with the plot at all. It may come off as realism to some, but I just found it to be shallow writing :(
The acting was surprisingly moving from these two, though. I wanted to like the film because of Kristen and Bill, but I just don't think the writing or direction held up their end. Definitely a few laughs to be had but nothing side splitting.
This is why I had to give the film a 5 out of 10.
Or maybe it was that the director and the editors directed and cut the film in such a forced way to make the film dip into far too many "indie" tropes, like the bonding over a duet of a song. Yikes. I cringed. The flashbacks of them as children seemed like superficial indie tropes too. Maggie as a child swimming in a pool had nothing to do with her scuba diving or suicidal thoughts of drowning herself, so why were they in the movie?? Was it to connect visceral images of childhood to these suicidal protagonists to further our empathy for them? Seemed like a desperate and shallow move or something, I dunno. I also, felt that the soundtrack and the way it was used was just so typically, "indieeeeee".
Or the problem could have been in the writing! The halloween scene where the twins are drinking beers reminiscing about their childhood just drags on. The content of their conversation alienated me because there was literally nothing to relate to in what they were talking. It was all about these random people from their childhood and these random stories about those people that had nothing to do with the plot at all. It may come off as realism to some, but I just found it to be shallow writing :(
The acting was surprisingly moving from these two, though. I wanted to like the film because of Kristen and Bill, but I just don't think the writing or direction held up their end. Definitely a few laughs to be had but nothing side splitting.
This is why I had to give the film a 5 out of 10.