Noturno

While watching 'Nocturne' it can be really hard not to notice the similarities between this and 'Black Swan'. It's slightly less sexual but the story follows a very similar pattern. To be fair there are far worse films to base yours off. It's just something I noticed. The opening scene of 'Nocturne' sets up some intrigue. It's not a scary or suspenseful scene, but it is strange and leaves you wanting to know why it happened. From there the film sets about telling its story, and does so in a surprisingly compelling way.

I'm not a big music fan (and certainly not classical music) but I didn't find that hindered my enjoyment of the film at all. If that's putting you off seeing the movie I would suggest not to worry about it. The film is a horror, but more in a bizarre way than a suspenseful or gory way. If horror isn't for you, I would say that isn't necessarily a deal-breaker on this one. I could imagine non-horror fans finding a way to enjoy this movie.

Sydney Sweeney was really good in the lead role here. She played a big part in making the film as watchable as it was. She's in every scene so it was very important she got her performance right. I liked 'Nocturne' without ever perhaps loving it. It's worth a look but don't set your expectations too high.

This movie reminded me of Black Swan and Perfection, but was original enough to be entertaining. Without giving much away, I will say I would have appreciated a bit more explanation on the notebook or the origin of how it came to the first girl. I guess it leaves endless room and questions for sequels and prequels. There is definitely more there to be explained, and it was good enough that I would watch another one to find out more.

The fourth and in my opinion best of the four announced Blumhouse films for Amazon Prime has arrived with "Nocturne". The film stars Sydney Sweeney and Madison Iseman as twins Juliet and Vivian. Both attend a noted music school and Vivian is a prodigy who has been accepted to Julliard upon completion of her studies.

Juliet had applied only to Julliard but was not accepted and this has caused issues with the faculty who had encouraged her to apply to other schools as well due to the 7% acceptance of Julliard and the longs odds of one or both of them being accepted.

When the top musician at the school kills herself, a spot to do a featured performance at an upcoming showcase arises and Vivian is asked to perform as she is clearly the next in line. Juliet comes into possession of a mysterious notebook filled with strange drawings that belonged to the recently departed former prodigy and she becomes obsessed with the drawings which seem to predict the future and in turn cause her to add drawings of her own to them. This starts a chain of events where Juliet sees a change in personality where she begins to covet her sister's talent, success, boyfriend, and more and begins a chain of events that will upturn their lives.

The film like the prior three Blumhouse Amazon films is not scary nor overly intense but it does have an engaging story and characters which will keep you watching and delivers an entertaining twist on films such as "The Competition" which depict the struggles and conflicts of aspiring musicians.

3.5 stars out of 5

... but remember, music is a blood sport and Juliet shows us why with a powerfully crimson performance as a teenage girl determined to rise to the challenge. Twins sibling rivalry and a piano provides the foundation but the cornerstones are the pressures placed on adolescence, the price of admission to achieving aspirations, the penalties incurred due to high expectations and the effects on others that take place as a consequence. Imaginatively done, if not all that original, it is the composition created by Sydney Sweeney that deserves the credit and a well earned round of applause.

I enjoyed this one, with the creepy faustian deal occuring in the background.

Though why this is so interesting is because they chose to leave things a little vague and open ended. I interpreted this movie in at least 3 different ways, maybe in 4 even.

At the end of the day it is hard to come across well shot movies with good plot beats, audio/music, and solid acting. This one covered the bases very well and has elements of horror woven into it, just enough to keep you on your toes.

The ending was damn creepy as well.

7/10 bravo, good watch.