Cruel & Unusual

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

At the beginning there are limited information about story and characters so it seems the main character is just a victim. However, the impression has been changing as the story has gone on. Gradually we can find each characters actual feelings. And I could not expect such a ending, so I should say this is great movie!

This doesn't usually happen to me with most movies, however, I had quite a difficult time identifying how seriously this movie really took itself. When I came to this website, I half expected the genre to say both "sci-fi" and "comedy," as opposed to "sci-fi" and "thriller." The acting was superb, however, the script and interaction between the characters had me laughing when I guess I was not supposed to. I cannot say that I was expecting what came at the resolution either, which certainly makes this movie worth watching. I did not want to include any spoilers in this review, so I'll conclude it by telling those who are a fan of the sci-fi genre to give this title a shot, and decide how they feel about it for themselves.

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.

There are a few unimportant details that prevent me from being able to vote this higher but in many ways this movie was a 10.

This film blew me away. I was expecting it to be typical nihilistic garbage but I was surprised by the almost John Steinbeck way that at the beginning you have no sympathy, or even have hatred for the main characters, only to love them in the end as you realize that they are just like you. Also, they have a sort of nobility that you never expected.

The film doesn't have much character development but the development it does have is absolutely amazing. Somehow the movie is absurdly dramatic in some ways, but the overall tenor is that it is beautifully understated and as such many people will not appreciate it.

For those of you who have never struggled with an addiction or committed a crime, you will not understand the power of the group 12-step program scenes, the realization of who you are and what you have done that slowly dawns on a person. Also, if you have never been tempted to suicide or gotten into the heart and mind of a friend who is tempted to suicide, in order to help him or her, then you won't appreciate a lot of this movie.

The scenes with the adopted son and mother as well as with the mother and her daughters, and even the one with the man next to the river, and the man and his parents, were some of the most memorable I've ever seen, memorable because they made me do the work as the viewer.

Again, the power of the movie was what it didn't say, leaving the most important statements to the mind of the viewer, so that they can be said more powerfully than a filmmaker ever could. And in that way, my hat is off to those who made this film, they didn't pander to the audience, the movie held back so that it could be more than it would have been, giving the viewer space to learn about themselves as they watched.

I came across this movie by accident on Netflix and almost didn't watch it. It is a great little gem.