reganj-45767

I think to myself "I love this show so much" about 5-10 times per episode. The character studies, the cinematography, the performances, the messages about family, forgiveness, and love; it all comes together so beautifully. It's truly a masterpiece and deserves every bit of praise it gets. You can feel the love and care given to each character from directors and writers.

It really encapsulates the human experience perfectly through the medium of cooking and restaurants. If you aren't a drama fan, you won't love this. But I urge people to try it out just because it really does speak to everyone in particular ways.

My one qualm... why is this listed in the comedy genre?

First off; great filming. Felt very cold and depressing even with a beautiful ocean backdrop. Good actors, loved seeing new faces.

The first two parts of this movie are very captivating. First we get a look into exploitation and objectification through the parallel of models, then a look at the class system in a nutshell shown through a yacht (a rather overused symbolism in my opinion). I liked the socialism vs capitalism commentary and THE scene was very cathartic and entertaining (once you watch it you will know what I'm talking about).

The third part lost me however. Not only is it a bit boring and uneventful, but it implodes on itself a bit.

The film tried to say a lot in terms of "what do we actually each contribute to society?" Highlighting the resourcefulness of the lower classes and the uselessness of the upper. And it does that ok, but then takes on a rather problematic stance with Abigail's character. As mentioned in a few articles, and a great essay by Ahmed D Dardir; Abigail nor the plot do any justice or commentary on true exploitation of the lower classes. The plot does not touch well on the extent of the damage and psychological manipulation of exploitation. It focuses only how miserable the rich are and how corrupted they have become. MOST importantly to note, the plot assumes that every society and group will jump at the chance to exploit others. This is a very black and white, un-nuanced view of humanity, and does little to factor in that those who fall victim to exploitation, have empathy for other victims and often DO try to break the cycle of abuse.

Plain and simple, this film lacks nuance and could have had a very strong last part if it focused on more commentary regarding humanity and empathy and apathy, rather than putting on this unhelpful and fear mongering Lord-of-the-Flies-esque viewpoint that says "well if we don't do it to them they will do it to us". Because really, isn't that idea and saying the entire problem?

My only negative; A little predictable, but that's not always a bad thing. I think with so many movies out now it's hard to be 100% original. And I will say this, if you are looking for a heart racing thriller, this is not the one. Reads like a dark comedy with a dash of a thriller.

This was a great film that clearly a lot of thought went into. The references and symbolism were fun to see play out and it didn't hurt that this was beautifully shot, and the set was absolutely breathtaking. Great actors, very convincing and heart wrenching (especially Alison Oliver). I think it gets a bad rep for some weird scenes, but as someone who is disturbed quite easily it wasn't too bad. I thought it was appropriately restrained, and all off-putting parts were symbolic and relevant to the overall storytelling.

I think if you love film analysis you will really love this. If not, definitely still worth a watch and is entertaining, just be prepared for a bit of a slow burn.