The Truth About Emanuel

This was an incredibly deep movie about loss and belonging.

This film is presented in a very intelligent, original way and even though the acting may seem awkward at times, it hits the mark with the overall feeling of uncertainty and UN-belonging.

It may be a bit slow, but what is expressed and observed non verbally throughout the movie creates that churning in your stomach, that ache that keeps you on the edge of your seat. It makes you wonder.

This movie is very simple, but emotionally goes beyond and is captivating. Both Jessica Biel and Kaya Scodelario played their parts perfectly.

If you love these types of deep movies that you can you emotionally attach to, this movie is a must watch!

An annoying 17 year old girl, whose mother died giving birth to her, comes across her new neighbour, a 31 year old stunning brunette who has a young baby, and who appears to be without a husband, boyfriend or any man in her life.

The young girl develops an obsession for her hot neighbour. BUT IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK.

It should be that. Lesbian lust, but it isn't.

Instead the girl stumbles across the neighbour's secret which she feels she must stop others knowing about.

A rather plodding drama that starts off well, then loses its way midway through. The ending could have been good, but instead we're treated to a rather unrealistic finale.

Only 5/10 from me.

Writer/Director Francesca Gregorini brings a unique and entertaining voice to her new film Emanuel and the Truth about Fishes. This is a darkly comic yet dramatic film about a young misfit girl who befriends her new next-door neighbor who is a single mother with a newborn.

This film is about, among other things, dealing with loss, motherhood and relationships with mothers. Not being able to be a mother but wanting to, not having a mother and wanting one. It may not sound exciting, or it may sound like a set-up for a romantic comedy of sorts, but this film has elements of horror, mystery, surrealism and gets quite intense at times. The film while it is dramatic and has many moments of the above is surprisingly comedic which helps balance the darker aspects of the film. Few films can pull off the level of comedy and heart- breaking reality that this film employs.

I knew fairly early on that I was going to like this film, the way it played perfectly with the audience's emotion and the striking production design. It is amazing how fresh and different this film feels, there is always an undercurrent that something is wrong which latches you to everything on screen.

I was emotionally invested in our main protagonist Emanuel (played by Kaya Scodelario) and in-turn with the single mother Linda (played by Jessica Biel). Between this and Wuthering Heights, I think Kaya Scodelario is an actress to keep an eye on. I've never been a Jessica Biel fan, until now, she is perfect in her role as 'the perfect mother'. The family dynamic too feels authentic with great supporting roles by Alfred Molina and Frances O'Conner.

The only thing that doesn't quite work in this film is the ending; it ends a bit abruptly and offers some emotional satisfaction but in terms of 'reality' feels like more should have happened to find a resolution for the characters. Maybe that's the point though, in difficult situations like these there is no neat bow to tie and make everyone feel perfect and the dissonance at the end is a manifestation of that. Other reactions may be more mixed but thematically and emotionally it was engaging and I appreciated it a great deal.

TL;DR An interesting watch. Probably will not stick. Passable.

This film's certainly an interesting one, at least conceptually and how it presents certain ideas, but that's about it. Visually, I can appreciate the film but it's really nothing outstanding. Lots of the dialogue feels strange, some characters feel irrelevant to the point that you could take them out and It'd literally be the same story, and some things just detract from the main focus of the film. The acting is fine but not outstanding to me, the main character never really reaches me and does some questionable things but is understandable contextually, and its unique imagery makes it stand out.

Not much great to say that's great about it in my opinion. It's just ok and I think its artistic qualities are what make this movie's concept interesting. Solid hit-or-miss in my opinion with lots of glaring flaws.

8 of 10. Truly a film that can be considered art, telling a bizarre story of how a teen girl deals with more typical, everyday parents, neighbors, boys, and a psycho. It manages to do this while still keeping it sexy and mysterious all the way to the end.

Maybe it deserves a higher score, but there are some character incongruities and other annoyances that might not be noticed by the target audience, but get in the way of us non-teen girls with functioning attention spans.

Nonetheless, the combination of the story, settings, colors, clothes, music, and synergy among an odd assortment of actors make for all the things one expects from a film getting an Academy Award nomination.