Mute

'Mute had one of the best premises of any film from this early part of this year. One of the year's most unique and daring and of my recent film viewings and it was hard for me not want to see it or miss it with it being so heavily promoted. It also had a good cast on board as well as director Duncan Jones, responsible for two great films 'Source Code' and especially 'Moon', in a passion project.

It made me sad and somewhat angry that such a fabulous concept was pretty much wasted by very wanting execution. 'Mute' is not a bad film, or a terrible one, it is much better than the negative reputation it's got. It's just that it's not a good one either, with the concept it had, the cast and the director one cannot help feeling it should have been much more. Easily Jones's worst film ('Moon' being his best) and his only less than decent one. Saw 'Mute' some weeks back on Netflix, but have been behind with my reviewing and film watching and it took some time to gather my thoughts.

The best thing about 'Mute' is the production values. The film does look wonderful with some of the most beautiful and atmospheric visuals of the year thus far. The photography and production design are sheer beauty while technical aspects are just as eye catching and used wisely. The music is both hypnotic and haunting.

First half had some great moments in atmosphere, emotion and character interaction. The most interesting aspect narratively is the chemistry between Justin Theroux and Paul Rudd. The characters are the only fully rounded ones, especially Rudd's who serves the most point to the narrative and the chemistry is suitably nuanced.

Was not impressed by the cast generally, but Theroux and Rudd come off best, the only ones in fact, rising above the material. Both are great, Rudd gives his all in an against-type role but for me Theoux's intense and nuanced performance was even better.

Didn't care for the rest. The support struggle in underwritten, shallow and often pointless, while Alexander Skargaard, even for a character that's mute, is a stiff and lifeless lead. Couldn't get behind his subplot at all. If anybody wants an example of a truly great lead performance as a mute character, look to Sally Hawkins in 'The Shape of Water'.

Furthermore, while the first half was actually not perfect but with a good deal to like, the second half was a mess. How can such a unique concept be treated in such a derivative and far from creative way? The further 'Mute' progressed the duller, more muddled and more confusing the film got. If it tried to take on less story-wise and in themes had less characters, things would have been more intriguing and clearer. Character motivations are vague and introduced out of the blue, the themes and ideas are too often under-explored or muddled, tonally it's unfocused and too many elements go nowhere or take too long to get there.

Jones's direction has passion and ambition and there are good intentions here, he just didn't seem to know what to do with the concept or different elements. The pace does drag and the film did feel too long by about 20-25 minutes.

Overall, didn't love it. Didn't hate it. More like was indifferent towards it. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Netflix has been going all-in on original content over the last few years, but until recently that was primarily through long-form narrative shows (one story told over multiple episodes) and disposable Adam Sandler movies. The last six months has seen the streaming service giant make a big push into A-grade feature length work (Mudbound, Bright, Cloverfield Paradox, to name just a few), and this sprawling sci-fi is arguably their most intriguing prospect yet. With ambitious auteur Duncan Jones given free rein on what he has expressed as his passion project, having concocted the story with childhood friend and co-writer Michael Robert Johnson, there's zero chance of it being dull. And dull it most definitely isn't, the propulsive story-a man scours the grimy underbelly of a futuristic Berlin when his girlfriend goes missing-keeps the viewer on their toes whilst the gorgeous realisation of a Blade Runner-esque tech-future is a pure feast for thine eyes. But here's the catch: with a reluctance to explain almost anything about this world, or provide character motivation for anyone other than Alexander Skarsgård's silent bartender Leo, the plot can be complicated to the point of pretentious. There are a lot of little flourishes and subtle touches that colour this universe, although they would have meant so much more if the overall context was clearer. As it stands these unexplained moments become increasingly frustrating, threatening to derail the whole movie. His acting skills well and truly put to the test, Skarsgård is likable enough as the gentle giant on a mission; however, Paul Rudd is horribly miscast as a scumbag AWOL soldier, his persistent mean-spirited goading of others regularly veering into pantomime. There is clearly a lot of passion and ambition on display with Mute, but while for some it will be evocative and demanding, for others it will simply be pompous and impenetrable. For me it's somewhere in the middle with the scales tipping ever so slightly towards the latter.

If you are looking for an action movie, pass this one up. If you are interested in a suspenseful drama mystery that develops characters via story and slower moving story telling, then watch this. It was artfully done. The bad reviews are not telling. It is a moving story worth watching. I like the the futuristic sci fi setting with a mystery and suspense story and ending. Perhaps you will too. Time is taken to develop relationships and characters. My one criticism is the pacing. Yes it is slower than needs to be, but this does building in the suspense factor. The acting was superb. It was interesting to see actors we know in uncharacteristic roles.

What would have otherwise been a 4/10 movie is elevated by the 10/10 performances of Skarsgård, Rudd, and Theroux - with Rudd, in particular, like you've never experienced him.

Once you've waded through rehashed cyberpunk dystopia (for too long a stretch), this trio of characters might reward you by film's end, and in high Greco-Shakespearean fashion.

We're starting to get more movies and TV focused on futuristic noir. Blade Runner 2049 and Altered Carbon have just come down the pike and Mute joins that crowd. They all share a similar style, exposed neon colours and a creepy and dirty city to play around in. Mute doesn't reinvent the wheel, but they change enough to show off an interesting style. I enjoyed Mute's cinematography and environments even though it shares this vision with movies like Blade Runner. This was needed too, when you're starting to drift from Leo and Bill's adventures, they bring in some new trick or piece of technology to move things along.

Despite the negative reviews, the one positive things I heard before turning Mute on was Paul Rudd's performance as Cactus Bill. I have to agree, Rudd actually makes for a compelling villain and this is a big departure from Ant-Man. His performance is noteworthy, and it was a good reminder what he's capable of. Alexander Skarsgård is fine as Leo, he's just not given a lot to work with. He's an underrated actor but he's kneecapped by his character. Seyneb Saleh is good in her part as Naadirah. She's sultry yet reserved and she performs as capably as she can. Justin Theroux is suitably slimy as Donald, he has a good interplay with Rudd and that again helps the movie along. I don't approve of what they do with his character, it just comes across as gross and then they never bring it up again.

Netflix is becoming a place for filmmakers to explore their dream projects. I approve of that and we as moviegoers need more unique stuff as many things are just becoming more and more formulaic. But this idea is a double-edged sword, while its good that we get unconventional content, the flip-side is that there is no one there to rein the creative team in when things go array. My biggest problem with Mute isn't that it was long, it was that the pacing of this movie can be compared to how fast a glacier floats. We have an interesting setting and mildly interesting characters, but the movie just aimlessly wanders like Leo when he's looking for Naadirah. Maybe it would have been a little cliche but this would have been so much better if they had made some minor edits to the story and made Mute take place over 1 night. We spend entire nights with Leo where he makes little to no progress and then we watch him wake up and try all over again. It's not like he makes a ton of gradual progress, the plot shifts on his very quick realizations so why couldn't this have been tightened down? I don't necessarily need a ton of action, but our main character is a blank slate other than knowing a little about his background, the movie needed something other than the acting and the cool environments to coast on.

I've already talked about how Mute's plot needed to be tightened up and have some added urgency but the other crime that this movie commits is that it loses any leftover goodwill with its unusual conclusion. A lot of things can be forgiven with a strong and exciting resolution and if you have the choice between starting strong and finishing strong, go with the strong finish. Instead of ramping up the stakes, the movie dives into becoming weirder and more contemplative. Characters make choices for no other reason than to propel the story, they aren't realistic, and you can tell that they're going to come back and bite them immediately. Mute needed to desperately pull a rabbit out of its hat to keep me interested over the long run time and while the film features a plot twist, it wasn't nearly enough, and the ending left me nonplussed and frustrated.

With the absolute beating this movie took from the critics, I thought I was in for a train wreck. But I was actually pretty impressed with this movie after the first 30 minutes. They assembled a good cast; the environment is fun to look at and they set up a decent mystery. It was only when I got past the first hour that the pacing, the weird character motivations and the meandering nature of the story started to get to me. I've enjoyed Duncan Jones' past work and I'm glad he got to make this. But Mute is far from must-see cinema, if you really like stuff like Blade Runner and are big into science fiction, this might be worth your time. Otherwise, Mute is another mixed bag from Netflix as they try to jump start making blockbuster entertainment.