Wrong

Wow, is this a tough one to review. I mean, you usually have a pretty clear idea whether or not you liked what you've just seen. But in the case of "Wrong," I'm just not entirely sure what that is.

The first hitch: it's directed by the same guy who brought you "Rubber." I HATED "Rubber." I wanted to like it, but I just didn't get it. I knew it was requiring me to think outside the box, but I went into thinking it was a horror comedy about a killer tire and nothing more. I shouldn't have to think any harder than that, and it made me mad that it wasn't what I expected. At least this time the description was a little closer to the truth, and I was better prepared. I thought.

It stars Jack Plotnik-who I generally like-as a confused man who has lost his dog, Paul. That's the only easy part to explain. The rest involves weird characters, rain inside office buildings, dog detectives, a crazy nymphomaniac pizza business girl, an aggressive cop and absolutely nothing makes ANY sense. So if you demand logic from your movies, just move along-otherwise you're just going to be frustrated.

But I was determined to try and appreciate what the others who highly rated this saw in it. And some of their insights really helped-especially the person who felt that all of the weirdness was a manifestation of Plotnik's sense of complete loss. They may be on to something. However, getting all the way through that weirdness is the hard part and why it's hard to review. Because it's not a bad film. It really isn't. It's well shot with decent performances. It is fascinating even if you're totally confused. By the time I reached the third act I was okay as it seemed a little less gloomy, and the ending was satisfying.

But it DOES take patience and an open mind. If you have neither, this will not be for you. This is not a comedy but it's not exactly a drama, either. It is a well made film, but certainly in a catagory that's hard to define.

I can't say that I fully understood a lot of the happenings in Wrong, I am not sure if I was supposed to, but I enjoyed it none the less. It is an emotional journey; the central premise of a man loosing his dog is something that I could identify with as a dog lover as being an incredibly harrowing, discomforting and disorientating experience and the imagery of the film does a lot to reinforce those feelings. Wrong feels like an art house film, abstract, beautifully shot with a surreal edge that somehow never feels random or out of place and never goes too far with weird for weirdness sake. There is a point (as opposed to the directors last feature -Rubber).

Wrong avoids alienating the audience by virtue of the great characters, they're actions given the context of the film seem perfectly understandable and you will identify with them.

Also, the film has made me reconsider my relationship to my dog, in a way that no other film has done before.

I cried.

Wrong is a strange movie, that's the least you can say about it. Nothing really makes sense in this movie and normally that's the ultimate letdown for me. But strangely it kept my attention till the end. I guess the dog did it, because I have a weak spot for dog movies, always hoping for a good ending. My wife on the other hand hated this movie, which I understand, as I wasn't a huge fan either. I wouldn't pay too much attention to the very positive reviews for this one, that is if you like your movies to be normal. Nothing is 'normal' in wrong, and I wonder why they did that. It wasn't really funny either. That Eric Judor had a role in this movie doesn't surprise me, he's known for playing in dumb movies, so no exceptions here. The acting and cinematography wasn't bad, the story was though. Bizarrely I rate this movie four stars, must have been the short appearance of the dog.

Surreal, absurd, bizarre... and boring. I wonder if he really had something to say, or he just wanted to be surreal, absurd and bizarre. If he had, I missed it.

5/10

This movie isn't for everyone; you will see many a 1-star review from people who like movies like "Bad Boys" and "The Expendables".

Like Rubber, Wrong is shot in a very artistic fashion, and if you appreciate such, the movie is a joy to watch for that alone.

It has a great story to go along with the cinematography though; it's full of quirky, off-beat humour (and not like anything by Wes Anderson, for example - it's another beat removed from "off-beat" entirely) and the characters are brilliant.

I felt that William Fichtner stole the show in terms of the characters on offer; every line he delivered was fantastically strange.

As I said - it's not one for everyone; but if you are a fan of unique cinema, you'll watch this with a half-smile on your face for the entire 90-odd minutes.