The Crescent

I wasn't expecting too much and that is exactly what I got. Very slow, dull, and virtually no real scares or excitement. There are a few good shots and some decent acting but the story really drags it down and is really something better suited for a short story at best. Very artsy yet it lacks real nuance. Your time would be much better spent watching something else.

I recently watched The Crescent at the Vancouver Film Festival and I loved it.

The Crescent is visually stunning and tells a story that can scare someone of any age.

I don't want to give anything away but all of the little things make sense at the end and it is truly a glorious experience.

Well done!

I repeat. . . The baby speaks more than everyone else. Just think about that for a second. Think about a very young child you know, and just imagine a movie where they are the protagonist amongst mostly adults. The baby is very articulate. . . For a baby. So don't expect any soliloquys, but 10/10 acting for a baby. Beyond that, I had trouble staying connected to whatever was happening in the movie. I just have more questions now, and don't know or care enough to watch the movie again - to confirm if it was an actual loose end or if it was explained. I would ask the questions now, but they might be considered spoilers. And perhaps this may be the warning someone needs, but won't read if it has spoilers.

First off this movie is very slow moving but I stuck with it because I read reviews.

If you are wondering if you should watch this movie do not make your decision based on my review. I just didn't understand it.

Have to say the acting from the little boy just amazes me. He did things that no normal two year can do.

I.

This movie is a shining example of someone who had a very specific vision for their film, so they just did whatever they wanted and it didn't end up coming together in any meaningful way. In an attempt to be deep and symbolic the movie is instead pretentious and a waste of time. The story is nonsensical and confusing until a character just explains it at the end. It's manages to be obtuse and hard to follow without actually being intriguing or leaving much up to interpretation. It's shot like absolute garbage, mostly using a lot of ugly close ups and handheld shots that have no sense of framing for the scene. Occasionally the movie has weird interludes where the aspect ratio changes to basically portrait view for seemingly no reason. There are some interesting visuals involving paintings made by the main character, but they don't end up having any real significance other than looking cool. Every performance is laughably bad; the lead especially seems incredibly bored every time that the scene is supposed to be suspenseful or scary. Probably most damning, it just isn't scary in any way. Nothing that happens to the main character and her son is really that threatening or disturbing in any way. There are a litany of cliches and played out set ups that never go anywhere. For a movie that's paced like a slug on wet concrete it doesn't create any sense of suspense whatsoever. In total, it's stupid, it's boring, it's ugly, it's poorly acted, and it has nothing to offer on a story level. Skip it.