The Pleasure of Being Robbed

The worst film I've seen in years. From the first minute to the last, nothing happens! Our (hugely unlikable) hero, Eleonore, who we follow through the film steals from people for unknown reasons. She is the same person from beginning to end thereby leaving the audience with absolutely no satisfaction. There is no character development, no arc, nothing. This film is as bland as puddy.

It's quite obvious the filmmakers were going for a John Cassavetes story-telling, rawness" but didn't even come close to reaching that bar. Instead they succeeded in showing off their immature, New York, self-indulgent "I'm too deep as an artist" arrogant ability producing this 70 minute film that felt like 3 hours. Everything comes down to idea, idea, idea. Concept, concept, concept. Character, character, character.

My favorite of the worst scenes in the film was the "driver's education film" stuck in the middle of this non-existent plot. I understand people in large cities don't drive & maybe have never driven, but come on: Eleonore, are you 3 years old? Are you mentally-impaired? I mean, you've seen cars, right? You live in NY city, they're all around you. You do get the basic idea of what a car does? How it works?? Ever taken a cab anywhere??? Watching the driver's-ed course which seemed like 45 minutes was pure torture! Seriously, is this really story-telling? C'mon, do you look at your own film & say, "WOW, it's so wonderful & deep."

Having screened at the L.A. Film Festival, when asked about certain character/story questions from the audience, the filmmakers had no clue how to answer these basic questions like, "why does Eleonore steal?", or "what's the meaning behind the title?". They just confirmed to the majority of the audience that they are just a bunch of white-kids with a lot of money, making films in which they have no business doing. I wouldn't have such a problem but knowing they think the world of themselves just because they went to NYU & live in some trendy area, living off mommy & daddy's allowance but play it down like "I'm a struggling artist just like you" is completely insulting.

I felt robbed after having seen this film. Can you give me back my time? How 'bout my money. There is NO pleasure in being robbed.

I just saw this at a university screening. After reading the reviews here, I wanted to add my response, too.

I thought this film was really moving. I think it goes a little way toward helping a viewer recognize the wild grip he or she places on things or expectations, and what's more amazing is that the logic of the film allows it to do this almost solely through humor and with a light touch. Many moments in the film are not that far from Gogol's Dead Souls or Tati's Hulot in their liveliness and scope.

At the very least, I'd recommend it to a friend--a thoughtful and surprising film.

THE PLEASURE OF BEING ROBBED (dir. Joshua Safdie) A brash example of LoFi Mumblecore that presents an unapologetic look at a whimsical sociopath who believes that anything that strikes her fancy is hers for the taking. Elenore swipes everything from kittens to Volvos, and the film's uncomfortable message seems to be that her victims are only being blessed by her wonderfulness. Needless to say, it's nearly impossible for a rational viewer to rally round a character with such an extreme egocentric focus, yet the film might only be a sly cinematic valentine by director Joshua Safdie to articulate his feelings for the star of the film, Eleonore Hendricks.

Seemingly unaware of itself, The Pleasure of Being Robbed, floats along each frame in a similar fashion that Eleonore does. Not for a second is the film pretentious as one may think after reading a brief description; there is no judgment on Eleonore. We follow and watch her as she goes through her day, stealing smiles, hugs, and kittens from strangers.

It is intriguing and (seemingly) unconscious in the same ways Richard Linklater's Slacker is, and with this said, it is likely those who did not find Slacker appealing would not be interested in The Pleasure of Being Robbed. (This review is coming from someone who is in love with Slacker so...) But it is more intimate than Slacker is; in Slacker, we only get a couple of minutes with each character; with The Pleasure of Being Robbed, we get 71 minutes. With this said, it is not a continuation of Slacker; it stands on its' own as a piece of art.

Eleonore is essentially a child. She tip-toes around (literally, in some instances), looking as though she is singing something in her head and giggles and smiles to herself. She has little inhibition and thus, feels the right to steal from people in order to peak into their lives and create another self. In the spirit of Arthur Rimbaud, "I is someone else," for her. And just the way people love children for not restraining themselves with certain actions, they know it is also selfish. Her character is both beautiful and sad; both distant and relate-able.

I saw this film at the IFC in New York City and the director and the woman who played Eleonore were there after (along with the other makers of the film) answering questions. I was pleasantly surprised at how honest Josh Safdie (the director) was in his answers. He was completely genuine and modest, and seemed excited, going on digressions. It was a nice change in a place that is often overwhelmed by pretentious, arrogant, aspiring filmmakers.

Not much happens in this movie. It's merely a glimpse into the life of a young woman living in New York, walking around somewhat aimlessly and stealing people's purses and car keys, out of boredom if for no other reason.

I like the idea of a film giving us a close-up view of an unfamiliar character's life in that kind of manner. It's different from the same old high-concept stories we're used to seeing. And here it is done in such a great way and wonderfully edited to the point that I thoroughly enjoyed it and never found it boring. However, it's not for everyone. I know a lot of people will hate this film for the exact reasons that I loved it, because not much happens.

The acting, in particular, is very good. It feels like these are professional actors with years of experience, despite the film's obviously tiny budget. I would say that it is the most well-acted film of such a low budget. It doesn't even feel like they're acting. It feels like they're real people, perhaps in a documentary but unaware that they're being filmed or followed.

At one point in the movie, the lead character visits a zoo and gets close to a polar bear. When she's near the bear, it is clearly fake, as safety concerns would not allow her to be unprotected within feet of a dangerous animal. The fake bear is not at all well-done. I got the idea that they were trying to make it look real, but eventually gave up and accepted the fact that it was clearly a puppet and didn't even try to fix it. They just went with it. It felt like they should have cut that scene but perhaps decided that it was more charming. In any case, it certainly doesn't ruin the movie, especially considering that it is kind of a dreamlike scene that wasn't supposed to be real life.

Another thing I liked about the film was its length at just over an hour. I felt like that was perfect for the story it was telling and I feel like a lot more films would be better if they had similar running times, as opposed to trying to squeeze an extra twenty minutes into a movie for the mere sake of making it longer because someone decided a long time ago that all feature films, regardless of their story, should be between one-and-a-half and two-and-a-half hours long.

I liked this movie quite a bit, but I know many will disagree with my assessment. But if you want to risk it and find out if it's the film for you, it's a pretty safe wager, because even if you hate it, you will have wasted just a little more than an hour of your time.