The Dark Divide

Environmentalists will love it. The panoramas are terrific, and its (Spotted?) owl scene is unforgettable. A supporting cast, such as the convenience store clerk and logging crew's boss, did a fine job adding substance to what was essentially a one man show.

That one man is this movie's problem. The actor portrayed Bob Pyle as a combination absent-minded professor and Deputy Barney Fife, taking every opportunity to strip down to his skivvy shorts or worse. Add to that an almost perpetual half-snarl, half-befuddled expression, and the result is a lead character who is hard to care about. During the last half hour I was rooting for Bigfoot.

Another problem was the director's choices for employing flashbacks. Several scenes involved quiet hours in the morning, evening, or night, and would have been perfect for flashbacks to when Pyle was with his wife. But Putnam's timing for using them ruined the story's momentum, which was already a challenge to establish given the premise of a butterfly collector wandering along forest trails.

Two stars for the supporting cast, one for wallpaper-class scenery shots, and one for that surprise in the end.

This movie was an hour and forty-one minutes that would have been better spent watching paint dry or grass grow.

It is NOT about Sasquatch/Bigfoot, as the movie art suggests (and the Amazon Prime grouping of it also suggests), rather it is about a complete lefty numbskull who somehow, miraculously made it to his older years without falling off of a cliff or walking into traffic.

The story goes off into tangents where he is walking around in his underwear at various times and considering how this guy is somehow able to teach at the college level should concern everyone. Then again it would explain for the pitiful way that college kids are these days not knowing things that used to be considered common sense.

This guy and 'Brandon' would be able to have a wonderful conversation together and I don't mean that in the comedic sense either but they're both a toy short of a Happy Meal.

I feel as if my level of IQ dropped by 120 points and that would still leave me ten times higher than the two of them combined!

I never truly appreciated the beauty of our wildlands until i saw david cross in them.

Makes you want to just go into the wild :-). A heartfelt and real story.

The Dark Divide is a gem of a film with a perfect balance of heartfelt drama and cringe comedy that leaves you feeling very understood in a year of chaos. And in a time where we are all feeling cooped up at home, the film takes us on a cinematic journey through the healing powers of mother nature, reminding us that grief and hope are often intertwined. Both David Cross and Debra Messing portray characters that are wholly unique from past roles, and the noteworthy supporting cast leave bold impressions. Based on the true stories of author and butterfly expert, Dr. Robert Michael Pyle, the movie seeks to find common ground in a thicket of biodiversity (quite relatable right now). Left vulnerable in the wild, human connection boils down to the mysteries of life and the inevitability of death. Oh and it has a pretty rad soundtrack. Yay Avett Brothers and newcomer Samantha Crain.