Small Apartments

I went into watching this movie expecting another indie drama with a big ensemble cast and just enough quirk to be cool with the hipsters. Turns out, this is probably one of the best movies I've seen in years. The plot revolves around Franklin Franklin, a bizarre man living alone in well, a small apartment, and his interactions and excursion with his various neighbors. I completely understand the negative reviews from critics, because the movie isn't perfect, There is some bizarre writing and story choices that might not bode well with audiences, but I honestly think that this movie is, in a way, a masterpiece. The characters all start off weird and somewhat repulsive, but as the movie progresses you begin understanding them and you begin to feel for them. There is rarely a movie that made me feel as much for the characters as I did in this movie. The reason for that is that the acting was fantastic, everyone played their character greatly, and there were little to no weaker parts to the performances. To wrap up, I highly recommend it if you can deal with some weird and bizarre, It's all worth it in the end.

The movie in question is a 2012 American black comedy directed by a famous video maker (Jonas Åkerlund) and tells the story of an odd obese Switzerland-fan (Franklin Franklin, distinguishably performed by Matt Lucas) who inadvertently kills his landlord. All the characters - in spite of their rank in society - are strange zanies, and even if briefly on screen, they are catchy thanks to good/distinctive actors such as James Caan, Johnny Knoxville, Billy Crystal, James Marsden, Peter Stormare, Amanda Plummer, Dolph Lundgren - first and foremost.

Apart from crazy moments and depictions, the plot contains several "correct" views on love, friendship, family relations etc, making it hectic and uneven at times, and there are some ending predictability related to the protagonist and bad guys. But as the movie is not long (around 1,5 hours), it is still catchy to watch and you will have your laughs and chuckles.

I cant believe no one has reviewed this film- so hard to "label" this one. I can tell you it is a bit "left field" and goes along with "life is stranger than fiction", it is not action packed, it is steady , plodding ,testing your loyalty, weighing you. trying to see if you are worthy of the message this movie delivers,-Literally - the filmmakers have given you life's meaning, spelled out word for word, in a crappy little semi-comedy, on the surface that's what this film is ... but, I'll bet you a dollar, this film makes you cry.

The main character spends the whole film in his underwear, and Johnny Knoxville does a great job of breaking his typecast in this,

I cant say this movie is like ..it's not like anything i can think of...maybe kinda has the same feel and pace as "spun", it is not like anything i have seen, it is a twisted tale of human interaction, told from an unwitting standpoint... and if you are like me , you will be sucker punched with the second half of this movie, you WILL be moved , and if you don't cry, I owe you a dollar-- I think this movie changed me--

That is a question only you can answer. We have to root for a character that has more than one flaw though. Not that other characters portrayed in this movie are without any flaws or doubts themselves. But while it's an ensemble piece our big friend is the one who's playing front and center (tonally and picture wise).

You sometimes wish some characters would have gotten more screen time, like the landlord, who has some very funny but also very offensive things and lines to do in the movie. And while it seems that some of the things are aimed at our protagonist, it's still not the best and smartest decisions he is making during the course of his journey. Dolph Lundgren seems to have fun, but his character could have been fleshed out more. A nice little odd movie then

'Small apartments' is all about its presentation. What we see is a pretty uninteresting story, told to us in a slightly dark, moody, nevertheless humorous, and - in any case - highly original way.

This presentation surely makes 'Small apartments' an unusual film. A good watch, however, for the dullness of the plot is more than compensated by its flawless high-quality acting.

In spite of all this, what remains after wards is a slight feeling of dissatisfaction. With a better plot 'Small apartments' would easily have been at the top.

Unfortunately this is not achieved, so we have to be content with an excellently acted, slightly surrealistic and doubtless original package.