This is a special movie. It comes from a particular place in the human psyche. A dark place; a fragile place.
It's hard to quite know how to make sense of this movie when you're finished with it. It's not dense or moralistic, even if there is a little bit of moral philosophy in its dialogue. It's neither pretentious nor essay fodder.
It's a strange, quiet nightmare that is physically formidable but also touches, on an abstract level, things we don't want to think about. Watching this, one desperately wants to say "No, that could never be me. I'm not like that, I'm not like him, I just wouldn't do that". And maybe you're right, but you still watch, desperate to see the outcome and at the same time, dreading it.
The first act builds with an eerie feather touch, just developing its characters and its set up so you feel like you could be either of them. Then a few simple but unfortunate twists of fate create an experience that no one is ready for emotionally.
It is not easy to watch. We get a lot of macabre movies out there. As much as I like horror done well I'm not sure I'd call this a horror movie. This is something both better and worse than a horror movie in the familiar sense. On a physical and psychological level, this confronts us with raw reality in a way that's often hard to be grateful for.
It has a sense of humor when it needs it. It lets you feel pathos and terror. I was in suspense until the end credits. Every note in this movie is perfectly judged. They even do the begin-at-the-end-thing in a way that give you credit as a viewer. No "three months earlier" nonsense.
A movie that couldn't be more mature in every sense of the term but it never speaks down to its audience. It seeks to stimulate emotions more than the intellect but is still very clever.
It will take away a piece of innocence you didn't know you still had.
