Cuck

The premise of this movie sounded interesting to me. I'm not really a political person but I enjoy watching movies where a character slowly loses their grip on reality and descends down a rabbit hole of madness, to me this movie fell short of delivering that feeling. It's pretty clear from the beginning of the movie that Ronnie is not a stable person and the ending of the film was rather predictable. The second act of the movie was unexpected in it's subject matter and while it has some fascinating moments it is ultimately depressing and you actually begin to feel sorry for Ronnie.

One big problem I think this movie suffers from is that it is very self-serious. The comedic moments that are in the film do not seem to come from a place of finding humor in tragedy, instead they seem to come from a place of intentional humiliation. The themes inside the movie also present themselves as very matter-of-fact. Black comedy can be good, but here it feels more vindictive than it does serving as a venue for humor in a certain situation.

Given the political context I can see why this movie is so polarizing. While making movies with a divisive subject can be risky, it can payoff if by the end the viewer leaves feeling like they learned something. I'm not very familiar with the alt-right but I didn't leave this movie thinking to myself, "wow! That was really an insightful look into the mindset of a group of people I don't understand." I kind of wish this film had dropped the political narrative entirely and just focused on further character development. Ronnie has a friend in the movie that kind of acts like a mentor but besides that he is rather one-dimensional and really just serves as a plot device. Ronnie's Dad passed away years ago and was in the army, that's about all we know about him--did Ronnie's father have a significant influence on his personality? Ronnie works at a convenience store and the owner's son basically acts as a plot device and another scenario for Ronnie to get upset about. The character Candy is somewhat fleshed-out but even still, her subplot is rather predictable and lacks tension.

Overall, this movie isn't unwatchable but it also didn't leave a significant impact on me. It was a very on-the-nose movie that felt like it was also patting itself on the back constantly. Like I mentioned in the beginning, you do begin to feel sorry for Ronnie by the end of the movie, however I do wonder if that was ever truly the filmmakers intentions?

This Movie....

Overall, if you're just a normal person going about your life, you probably won't enjoy this movie. It's very dark, dreary, and depressing. Also, it does seem like the filmmakers took this movie seriously, which is unfortunate, because if they went straight for a black comedy, this would be a 10 star review, without question. And I know aspiring filmmakers are desperate for a 10 star review from an internet random like me.

The fun parts of this movie are that the main character is such an unlikable pathetic loser, that's it's comical to see him just get constantly humiliated and wrecked in the worst ways possible. I give the creators credit for levels at which Ronnie gets owned in this movie. It is very amusing.

The problem is, once you get past the amusement of seeing a ridiculous caricature of an "alt right" (whatever that is) troll getting humiliated (it is very funny at times), it's a pretty empty movie. Ronnie is such an over the top caricature that you can't really take him seriously. I don't doubt that there's people like him out there, but it does honestly seem like a Liberal Wet Dream of how they envision the typical Republican Voter.

That's why this movie has mostly 10 or 1 point reviews of people either saying it's hateful propaganda against White Men, or it's amazing commentary on how much Right Wingers suck!

Overall, it's kind of a hopeless movie. It's basically saying that there's these guys out there who are totally incompetent, angry, hateful, alone, and ready to snap. And that there's not much we can do about it. Which could be funny in a dark comedy, but is kind of depressing in this movie.

Sorry to say it, but this film's plot is incredibly weak, as well as too on the nose with the political commentary. The cinematography is great, as well as the lead's preformance. But Cuck feels more cartoonish in it's narrative then Joker, a movie literally derived from a comic book. I'd recommend watching this given time to burn, but it's in no way a "deep" film. If anything, I'd say that the screenwriters spent too much time trying to make the movie controversial, and not enough time trying to make this world feel real.

This movie is written from a point of view that tries to pass off as sympathetic but at its core this movie is a 'hate letter' to the 4\8chan and incel culture, this movie is not a character study, it claims to try to show how a sad lonely kid can get radicalized through exposure to far right rhetoric online but almost everything that happens in the movie is so outlandish that you really can't take it seriously.

Ultimately, this movie is written form a leftist perspective and it tries to color trump supporters as 'cucks', without a shred of self awareness about the whole ordeal, the movie takes itself very seriously.

But really, beyond the hamfisted politics it's not a terrible movie worthy of a 1 star review.

Hello and salutations,

I was altogether convinced that this movie would be pure and beautiful when I first heard its title. The title awoke incredibly joyful sensations in my heart and sent utterly magnificent signals to myself's brain.

I am a cuck. And to all the reviewers here that claim the alt-right does not exist, I deeply resent and take offense. We, in fact, do exist among the lands of Chad'nbruh. Everything in this movie so accurately depicts and represents our homeland and I relished every second of it. Truly a work of art, truly magnifique, avant garde, chef d'oeuvre, truly a gentleman and a scholar.

Thank You