Cruel & Unusual

Very surprising !well written directed and acted !.stumbled upon this on prime well worth a watch

I don't want to say too much about this film since I feel like the less you know about it going in the better.

For such a low budget they really did a great job with this. All the actors did a very good job, the story was excellent, and even the small soundtrack was memorable. The highlight of the movie is the original story, it's really an interesting idea and the movie does a perfect job of bringing the idea to life.

I'll keep the review very short by saying that this is definitely worth seeing. I don't think it is an amazing film, but it is clever and very original, two things that many higher budget films fail at achieving.

7.5/10

Yeah, I know. The summary seems a bit oxymoronic, but if you've seen it, you'll know what I mean. This is a movie that gets more mileage per production dollar than 95% of what you will ever see.

Bleak almost throughout, and repetitive, but welcome to purgatory. It's totally necessary, if a bit confusing at times. I'd like to see it again, now that the premise is firmly in focus. It's a movie that is better, in some ways, the second time around.

The acting is mostly great, but the unrelenting hostility of Doris gets a bit wearing. (I have an unfortunate tendency to put "real world" values on movie characters) There isn't a bit of wasted emotion coming from her, though...it's just 'her.' Very true to the character.

There are a number of moments of doubt about some of the characters, the chief protagonists, mainly. This is all to the good, in my opinion.

I really hope the other projects involving the writer\director, Merlin Dervisevic, are as good. I'm sure going to be looking for them.

I enjoyed this movie. My wife went to sleep after about twenty minutes. I tried to get her to watch it because the story was a worthwhile tale. The feeling of the beginning was kind of depressing. A lot of people might not want to give it a chance but the plot and ideas expressed are thoughtful. It was imaginative and compassionate. It had that Rashomon element, if you know what I mean. I don't want to say anymore. Just watch it if you enjoy conceptual stories.

The summary of my comments was going to be "The Eighth Amendment prevents you from being forced to see this movie". It was pretty unpleasant for someone like me. but now that I know how it ends, it just takes patience and it's actually quite well done, which plenty of good acting and writing.

I would say the standout performances come from Michael Eklund as Julien and Michelle Harrison as Doris. These are just the best because of what these characters do. Actually David Richmond-Peck as Edgar eventually makes an impression. He was good enough for most of the movie, but nothing spectacular. And yet at the end, He delivers. Julien is kind of a rebel and tries to help Edgar and be his friend, while at the same time being kind of a bully. Kind of like Eddie Haskell without the being charming to those in authority. Julien is the best character yet in this movie, but that will eventually change.

At one point I think "Quantum Leap" fans will be very happy.

The ending finally makes everything we have suffered through worth watching. It's actually quite amazing.

If you like weird sci-fi with philosophical questions and confronting your guilt, this might be for you.