Lost Transmissions

Simon Pegg in a serious role? Well, he aint bad. And Juno Temple of course is a great actress as well. But what we have here are 2 comedy actors, carrying a serious movie. That didnt work out to well.

The bad: lack of genuine, credible drama.

Not any good? It is a worthy and sympathetic attempt at telling a story about mental disorders, which isnt a very popular subject in the movie industry. Perhaps suited for educational viewing? But it isnt gripping or impressive enough that I would dare recommend it.

Better watch "One flew over the Cukoos nest" (1975) instead. That Jack Nicholson classic about mental disorders will blow your mind!

....then you will relate to this. Shown from the point of view of a woman watching her friend spiral down the cycle of schizophrenia. Juno Temple does an amazing job at showing her confusion at first, then the different stages of trying to get him the help he needs, and sometimes wanting to give up.

Simon Pegg really stands out in this movie, he captures the art of portraying the thoughts that inevitably lead a schizophrenic to going off their meds (anosognosia), the charm they display to make you think it's alright (they can be so damned convincing) and then the absolute random outbursts of hate, violence and/or rambling.

It isn't the most quickpaced movie, but it is a great story. It is hard to fit the entire dimensions of what a relationship with this particular mental illness is like into a movie, but it is definitely a glimpse. And they only touched on it a little, but it is enough to show that there are severe problems in the mental health department in the US. Anyone with a sense of empathy will take something away from this movie.

It is worth noting that the timeline of this can be hard to follow. And it might seem like he is 'suddenly crazy', where in actuality a fair amount of time has passed.

I am however, disappointed that they felt the need to put Alexandra Daddario so much in the forefront. Don't get me wrong, I like her and she did a good job. But her character was not that important. Certainly not enough to put her on the cover. And the confusion of their choice to push her as such a main character in advertising, was distracting.

Summary; A hard story to tell but it is done well by all actors involved. If you like that sort of thing, give it a watch!

If you know anything about depression or psychosis you'll "get" this. Yes it's not subtle, or heartwarming or a redemption story but that's what makes it feel less Hollywood and more real. Pegg gives a great performance and Juno does well with less showy material. Well worth a viewing 7/10

The movie throws you into characters and their dynamics without ever establishing them in a way that...I don't know...makes sense. To the story. In the movie. Which generally appears to not know what it wants. Except maybe have the protagonist be stupid as hell in their dealing with Theo.

Which...it was hard to gage whether or not that was on purpose. Because no writer/director can be that oblivious. And Juno Temple did play her very much a like an idiotic LA type.

But then again the movie also played everything pretty straight. Except maybe for Daddario's character, who the movie sort of made fun of as a representation of the current LA music scene. All the while having the protagonist and their circle be equally as pretentious.

I don't know. I wanted to catch up on what Simon Pegg had been up to, and it had a 5 point average on here, and that one is pretty accurate. Pegg and Temple weren't bad technically, their characters were just written terribly. Or just integrated into the story very badly. Unfortunately that can make really good acting look really stupid.

I really liked the stylistic vision of the movie, though. Even though the sound editing could have used some more work.

But the general style, even if not groundbreaking or amazing or anything, was the movie's saving grace.

This is a heartbreaking story about how schizophrenia destroys a man's life. I find the story very engaging, and very real. It is great to see Simon Pegg in a serious role, and he's convincing in it too.