Human Capital

You know when you have a nagging feeling that you have seen a movie (or any other kind of Deja Vu), but you know you didn't? And then you (me in this case) may think, it's because I've seen so many movies, that's why it does feel familiar. And then you search the title here on imdb and realize you've seen the Original (Italian I think) movie? Which is far better than the remake - and I'm saying this while being fully in love with Marisa Tomei in general.

I singled her out, but you have a stellar cast overall of course. But still and while this does have certain things working for it (if you are into dramas), it also has quite a lot that you may consider to annoying for you. Or if you've seen the original, have seen done better for drama and other effect ... If you don't mind subtitles then - watch the one from 2013 - you're welcome

Yes, it has a great cast, but... that's about it.

Otherwise it's a rather pedestrian "lives crashing together" type drama, centered around a car accident. It's also rather obvious what happens.

This story tells what happens to each of the characters before the accident, and how these events intersect. To be honest, the events are interesting but not told in an engaging way. I don't care about any of the characters, which is central to the success of this film.

People don't like being lied to, but the movie is not that bad. The large amount of initial fake up voting has come back to hit this one in the head, reaping a harvest of dissatisfied low voters. That being said, the film is very watchable with a level of political correctness and snowflake character insertions, not too difficult to overcome. Like most this is by no means great, but then quoting other critics is not a review. There's a lot of that going on here by those who have nothing to say.

The only ones raging against that are the millenials and snowflakes who probably feel misrepresented by some of the characters who are them. Liev Schreiber is not Ray Donovan here, and no one should expect him to be; Marisa Tomei plays her part just fine, as does Peter Sarsgaard who has always been very consistent in my view. There's seems to be a growing mob of millenials who've discovered this site in recent years, whose depth and knowledge of cinema is almost non-existent. They know how they feel and sometimes even what they want, but not much else.

Both the film and the characters in it are fractured, portraying people who are broken self absorbed and a bit lost. Not in some deep meaningful way, but in the shallow selfish amoral way that our society has become. The series Succession and recently Mare of Easttown, are very much that same way. Where people lack both identity and loyalty as well as the sense of community that used to undergird most of society. Much of the dialog is that of the insider where you are expected to know, so you'll have to pay attention to find meaning. The Counselor was misunderstood and disliked for the same reasons.

Cold distant detached people living for themselves in their own little wreckage of something that used to be made up of caring and giving with just a little bit of respect. Crash was like that, so was Heat, just earlier versions. Though this is not as good as either of those films, especially Heat. The problem a lot of youngster reviewers have with it is that it does not resolve anything, it just shows you the problems but it does not answer. Only God can do that, but no one wants to hear it. It's worth watching for what it is, and I would watch it again.

Tribulation Saints and The God Haters, our 2 books on fb.

"Human Capital", directed by Marc Meyers ("My Friend Dahmer") is the second screen adaptation of Stephen Amidon's novel of the same name. I have neither seen the first one nor read the book, but this version of "Human Capital", mainly being carried on the shoulders of a great cast, is an effortful suburban tale of what happens when people get pushed to their limits, mental, physical and financial alike, a tale that sometimes hits and misses.

"Human Capital" is a character-driven drama structured in retrospective kind of way, putting a single event in the center of it and then telling each character's journey and role in said event. This story-telling works well for the first hour, but as it progresses it also gets slower, leading into a silent and unsatisfying climax which in retrospect makes "Human Capital" feel more like a build-up in its entirety. The story and themes from which it's weaved from is realistic, relevant and tries to touch your strings, but does so unsurely. Financial hardships, father/daughter and husband/wife relationship problems, depression, suicide, sexual freedom - all of these themes are there on some level, but they don't connect together as well as they should've. It is the acting work by the well put together cast that makes up for some flaws, even the smaller roles are filled in with familiar faces and commendable performances. In my opinion, the brightest highlight shines on Live Schreiber and Maya Hawke. Visually it's quite obvious that "Human Capital" is made on a limiting budget and seems like most of it went to the cast (well deserved, good choice), so visually it has come out a standard indie drama/thriller flick, with no extraordinary solutions or distinctive characteristics.

"Human Capital" is not a bad movie but neither is it memorable, it engages as a character-driven with enjoyable performances drama but has a knack to eventually underwhelm in most of the other areas. Recommended to those who are intrigued by its cast. My rating: 6/10.