This Is Your Death

This movie was so deep I need to watch something happy *puts nemo in dvd player

When I read the synopsis I thought it must be a satire, so it shocked the heck outta me to discover just how seriously this film treats it's premise of a network television program that presents people killing themselves for money. It plays everything one hundred per cent straight; gives characters believable motivations; tries to navigate around the tricky issues of how it could be allowed on the air and how people might react to it, etc. Performances are sincere and credible; the direction is serviceable - primarily to be commended for the emphasis on making everything as real as possible; for the most part the script is intelligent and astute. And for the majority of the film my only complaint was that it could have delved even deeper into the moral, ethical and social implications even as it was clearly telegraphing where the movie was headed. The inevitable connection of plot threads which otherwise might seem a little heavy-handed seemed the perfect opportunity to really explore the complex issues being addressed. Sadly the film stumbled hard towards the finale in a desperate attempt to end on a positive note, even if that meant suddenly hurling the carefully established reality out the window and becoming stock, shallow and predictable. It sold itself out for a "happy-ish" ending. In that context what had earlier seemed simply a bit too obvious (you can clearly guess which characters are going to end up on the program) suddenly becomes more manipulatively pedestrian. I understand the urge to present a positive, hopeful message, but the switch from dark to light needs to be handled with more finesse and caution otherwise - as happens here - you simply spoil what was otherwise an excellent little film. It felt like a desperate alteration instead of something being built towards - perhaps it was imposed on the filmmakers during postproduction? Yeah, I'll choose to think that, rather than the filmmakers simply lost the courage to be true to their tale: which, in a nutshell, is the difference between something like Network, and what we have here.

First, I am a big fan of Giancarlo Esposito who has been in many films as well as gained much notoriety as the Meth Dealing King in "Breaking Bad". Although I'm not sure, I believe this is his directorial debut in a feature length motion picture.

Without any spoilers, I will sum up why I thought his was a very well done and interesting film.

The premise: A reality show host witnesses two contestants get killed on live TV in a previous show he hosted. Fed up with mindless fake Television (aren't we all?) he formulates a "real" and fully transparent Isea for a show that has people wanting to commit suicide live on TV. The idea is, the network will put up $100,000 and the TV audience can match or donate as much to the surviving family members to better their lives.

Clearly, I'm sure this concept would break many laws in each and every state in the U.S. But, as is done in Hollywoodland, they address the legal aspects and find loopholes to allow this to be broadcast.

What I thought was very entertaining and thought provoking was the simple concept that Reality Television seems to be getting more and more perverse and it's not impossible to believe something of this sort and magnitude will eventually air and be watched by millions. This is not to say actual suicides will ever be televised. My point is, it seems television today has to go bigger and bolder to outdo one another to gain ratings.

The acting by all was way above par. The story line and plot simple enough but highly engaging. The concept very morbid but again, there is a quality of realism in its concept.

This is a very different story then the typical slop put out within the premise And done with a reality I thought was accurate. One caveat....again, I don't believe a show like this would ever be aired and those who would watch should have their heads examined. That said, I give it an 8/10 for originality and something entirely different.

Kudos Giancarlo!

The show, this was a different taste different type for me, havent seen a movie like that, the main idea was peoples sacraficing for each other, and all this tv propaganda to gain financial support attention and confidence, and how is money affecting people how they act with it, the exchange was soul for money, we all know money is controlling the world its the main cause of violent and disturbing, the message was clear and simple from it, the characters were acting great all of their appearances were there, giancarlo espocito was really there with his acting great performance and a great role, wasnt long wasnt boring, i was just keeping with the story from the beginning, they delivered the ending and we got it how things changed, this movie aint for all people you might not find it intresting but its good for its genre, 6/10⭐

Reality TV has gone too far and it should not move any further. Also society might derail if it continues this path. So let's watch out for that. The predictable preachy plot of the movie is one thing and at least it doesn't take any prisoners. But the message is being hammered so hard, that any subtlety is being lost entirely which is a shame.

The game show concept we see here and the blood lust of the viewing public is almost comical. Not because of the consequences, but because of the cliches it serves to. So the inciting incident at the beginning will spin the whole thing out of control, but with a very easy to spot goal/target. If you shut out the obvious, you may be able to "enjoy" the movie ... if not you may stay clear from this