e_k_cinephile

This romantic drama, set in the 1950s, after the Korean War, is the story of people who pursue both the American dream and their passions, and experience the burning and destructive aspects of both. The three characters that form the backbone of the story are played by three very talented young actors; Daisy Edgar-Jones, Jacob Elordi and Will Poulter. It is an exciting, sexy and tragic film. The plot is a bit messy, some sub-plots are reduntant (e.g. Muriel & Sandra or Muriel & Gail), and I felt that the relationships between the characters were sometimes built up too hastily (especially Muriel & Julius). It could have been a more organized, more focused and deeper film, but it is still a very fluent and enjoyable one to watch. 7/10.

The film tells the story of Elwood, a young black man sent to a reform school in the 1960s, and Turner, whom he meets there. These two young people try to survive in a hostile environment where there is racism, violence and even death. The film's story is important and touching, but the film is overlong and incredibly slow. The camera is used largely from Elwood's point of view, and in some scenes from Turner's point of view, and this technique is frustrating in a 2 hour and 20 minute movie. Since we watch the movie through the protagonist's eyes, we almost never see the protagonist's face, which seemed like a ridiculous artistic choice to me. The strongest aspect of the film was Elwood's relationship with his grandmother. The movie is an adaptation of a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. One thinks that it would have been great if it had been shot in a different style, with a shorter and more interesting narrative. As it is, it is a film where style overshadows content.

A great movie built on dualities such as beauty and deformity, real life and art, authenticity and imitation. A hellish narrative shaped around one man's self-perception, identity confusion, painful change process and struggle for self-acceptance. It successfully blends black humour, drama and psychological tension, and adds a postmodern, meta touch to all of this. It reminded me of classic movies like "Seconds" (1966) and "The Face of Another" (1966). It is similar to "The Substance" too, which was also released this year and which also focuses on the triangle of body image, beauty and show business, but this one has a more realistic and grounded story. I watched Sebastian Stan, who previously attracted my attention in films such as "I, Tonya" (2017) and "Fresh" (2022), in the leading role of a movie for the first time and he shines incredibly in this movie. He is successfully accompanied by Renate Reinsve, who attracted attention with "The Worst Person in the World" (2021), and Adam Pearson, who appeared in a small role in the movie "Under the Skin" (2013) (and has neurofibromatosis in real life). The movie could have been just a little shorter and had a more striking, hard-hitting finale. Still a very interesting experience! 8/10.