An astonishing drama - a slice of the turbulence that can be life - a work of art
It makes complete sense that 'Another Happy Day' would have low overall ratings. Clearly it has been rated by the very type of people it depicts.
For those of us, though, who feel deeply - who recognise a feeling of isolation and separateness in this life - this film is a masterpiece. Much like Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye", the characters here are awash in their circumstances. Their intelligence and insights set them apart from the crowd, but cannot save them. Rather, it imbues them with a sense of alienation and deep-seated loneliness. But all is not doom and gloom. There is a healing here. A subtle taste of humour. Even amidst the darkness, sparks of light catch us and remain.
Ellen Barkin's performance is astonishing. We live alongside of her emotions. We live within her characters' desperation, in her helplessness, in her strength, and in the purity of her love. Her characterisation is complete. This is what acting can be. It is what acting should be. Ezra Miller, too, understands and becomes his character completely. Every nuance of this movie has been lovingly crafted with empathy and with understanding. At no time is the audience condescended to or spared. Sam Levinson has given us a masterpiece, and like most real masterpieces, the work is destined to be appreciated by only a few.
If you are unafraid to enter into the grittiness and difficulties of familial relationships; if you are sensitive and intelligent and a lover of life; if you are a poet at heart, if you understand the separateness of individuation, then I must urge you, see this film.
Like swimming in the dark ocean on a moonlit night, it is beautiful, deep, and untethering. It will leave you agasp.
For those of us, though, who feel deeply - who recognise a feeling of isolation and separateness in this life - this film is a masterpiece. Much like Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye", the characters here are awash in their circumstances. Their intelligence and insights set them apart from the crowd, but cannot save them. Rather, it imbues them with a sense of alienation and deep-seated loneliness. But all is not doom and gloom. There is a healing here. A subtle taste of humour. Even amidst the darkness, sparks of light catch us and remain.
Ellen Barkin's performance is astonishing. We live alongside of her emotions. We live within her characters' desperation, in her helplessness, in her strength, and in the purity of her love. Her characterisation is complete. This is what acting can be. It is what acting should be. Ezra Miller, too, understands and becomes his character completely. Every nuance of this movie has been lovingly crafted with empathy and with understanding. At no time is the audience condescended to or spared. Sam Levinson has given us a masterpiece, and like most real masterpieces, the work is destined to be appreciated by only a few.
If you are unafraid to enter into the grittiness and difficulties of familial relationships; if you are sensitive and intelligent and a lover of life; if you are a poet at heart, if you understand the separateness of individuation, then I must urge you, see this film.
Like swimming in the dark ocean on a moonlit night, it is beautiful, deep, and untethering. It will leave you agasp.
- mitch-a-berger
- Nov 16, 2012