Very Big Stress

I mean, I get it. This movie is just not enjoyable in any way. There's a message in there about the awful dullness of the American white-collar lifestyle, marked by affluence stripped of all meaning or pleasure. It's all expressed with a bit of weirdness trying for absurdity. Unfortunately the movie ends without any real redemptive moment or even purpose. I did though like the bits on superficial tension-relieving strategies, since we seem to be awash in them these days, with predictable results.

Orwellian comedic-drama from director Jared Drake and writer Brandon Drake pares civilization down to a desperately stress-free society filled with self-help gurus and innocuous television shows. Zach Galifianakis, an unhappily married family man who works in Level 3 of a major productivity corporation (where the company logo is the middle finger salute), attempts to avoid combustible stress as it is causing citizens to literally explode. There's no passion left in his marriage, yet the sound of a co-worker's voice on the phone reminds him of a happier time--when love ruled his heart. Nearly-ingenious bit of offbeat satire, infused with deadpan black comedy and Galifianakis' sly performance (he keeps a straight face almost throughout, though there's always a naughty twinkle in his eyes). Some of the situations fall flat, the dialogue is a bit crude, and the film runs too long at 95 minutes (cut the crusts off this material and it may have made for the perfect short). Still, the surge of feeling (and redemption) at the finale is worth waiting for, and the picture has an intriguing look and ambiance that could garner cult status. ** from ****

I just saw this at SIFF tonight, and I must say that I'm very impressed. For a first time director, this film is very well done. It's both funny and original, which is rare to find. I'm a big fan of dystopic future stories, and to see something like this executed so well on a (relatively) small budget is very inspiring. The themes of the movie, such as unhappiness, stress, and the death of dreams are all very relatable. Zach Galifianakis does quite well. I love him as a stand up comedian and goofy comedy actor, but was admittedly skeptical about his role in this. However, he did an amazing job, playing the character, rather than playing his comedy persona. The movie does have quirky and odd elements that may turn some people off, but for many others, those things make it all the better. I highly recommend this movie. Please go see and support it so that we can get more movies like this in the future!

If you made a movie about the abuses of a meat packing industry and your audience was the owners of several meat packing firms, you wouldn't get good reviews. That mostly explains the unusually low score for this movie. Its not likely to bring glee to the eyes of those that usually adorn the walls of the local multiplex.

The film is pretty good satire. Its satire not only comes from the situation, but the foreboding mood that lurks throughout the film. It takes on multiple dysfunctions in American life. These would include corporations, Oprah Winfrey, Junk Food, Televangelists, Suburban Households, Materialism, etc.

The film does this all pretty well. There are some occasional flat notes; this would include Zach Galifianakis going into overly long star offs. Most of the staring he does is within bounds, but sometimes he crosses the line. Some of the satire was lacking any subtlety; I'm thinking of the life coach who tries to cure Zach.

Many people have compared this to Brazil, its a fair comparison. In terms of quality, this movie is light years away from Brazil; that is very important however. The one plot point that greatly diverges with Brazil is the ending. I liked the ending to this and thought it fit very well with the rest of the movie. If it ended another way, the film may have come off to much as a wet rag.

Trailers are strange beasts that often hugely misrepresent the tone of a film. I'm not sure if I enjoy the mischievous manipulation involved, or hate the mistrust that it generates. A little of both, I guess.

Visioneers is one such example: the trailer comes across as a fairly light-hearted, quirky romantic comedy.

In reality, however, this film deserves to sit beside 1984 and Blade Runner as dark and disturbing visions of dystopian futures. While it starts out with the uncomfortable humor you'd expect from a Zach Galifianakis film, the atmosphere of oppression builds over the course of the movie to become almost unbearable. This film makes Requiem for a Dream seem like an episode of 'friends'. The central character, George, lives robotically both in his dull office job and at home in a loveless marriage. The world around him is full of deadpan absurdities, a parody of drab offices and mid life crises, with an undercurrent of hopelessness that rings a little too true to sit comfortably.

The way the theme of dreams is turned into a literal threat is done with obvious self-awareness, but it comes across like a bad cinematic pun. Its more carefully constructed distortions of reality are where it really shines, with its vapid self-help infomercials, eccentric mentor figures, and the mega-corporation as a cult. And the way George seems to communicate through much of the movie semi-telepathically instead of verbally may be strange and unsettling, but also mesmerizing. Thoroughly worth watching.