Breathe

So this was coming out this week, and i said why not, i remember hearing good things about this movie when it came out at the Sundance Film Festival in the beginning of the year, so yeah, i gave this movie a chance. Concussion is the directorial day view for director Stacie Passon and it stars Robin Weigert, Maggie Siff, Johnathan Tchaikovsky.

And i don't think i have much to say about this one, i mean it has some quality, its a decent directorial debut, but the movie just did not hit me. Concussion follows Abby a lesbian who is going through a mid-life crises, she has no sex with her partner Julie Fain Lawrence, and she goes to see a hooker. And then things get a bit more complicated. So this actually came first than Blue is the Warmest Color another lesbian story, that unfortunately i have not seen yet, but i am very excited too.

But the movie is not really about lesbians, or the social problems or anything like that, this movie is about a women that is repressed sexually and is trying to help, another women that are also sexually repressed, she is really discovering herself doing this process. Justin says to Abby that she has to stop doing what she is doing, that what she is doing, he says "this isn't you" and she answers "something has to be me by now". She is really trying to figure things out, inside herself, she knows that she cant keep up with her boring sad life, she wants change.

The performances are really good, Robin Weigert does some very impressive work in this movie has Abby, but really, that is just it, the movie just does not have enough to offer. And when i left the room i was feeling nothing. Decent debut for its director Stacie Passon and good performance by Robin Weigert but that is basically it. Rating:C+

I like small independent films and I liked this one. Engaging until it got near the end and I felt like it lost focus. extra points for being shot in New Jersey. Check it out if you have the time.

Intriguing without being captivating. Not as ponderous or pretentious as many of these films tend to be. Strong performance from Robin Weigert carries many parts of the story. Despite a somewhat limp climax and a couple of weak accessory characters, Concussion is an interesting and nicely presented movie.

That was a random display of loneliness. I wonder if there were any grownups in this movie that was truly happy ?? Apart from "The Girl" that was merely neuvrotic that is. The film painted also a very grim picture of middle-class America in my mind. I found it uncomfortable to watch often. But apart from the above mentioned - the acting was damned good on Robin Weigert's part, and she alone kept it interesting for me. If it's a lesbian film ???? Have no idea. There were lesbians in it, but I found it to be overall a society tale of a certain class of Americans, and Jeezz what empty lives they are leading sitting there on there little bikes in the gym, sipping cocktails and joining all kinds of charities. As a European - I do not get this thing the US have about sexuality. Eighter it has to be totally taboo - or down and dirty - I just don't get it. So - I made up my own ending to spice it up a bit. Abby finally got her climax with random Sam - and I do not think that that stopped after the last frame - finally left her ice-prinsess Kate, and managed to get some happiness into her life. At leased - that would be something to stop the boredom.

Or life altering. I don't think you have to be lesbian to make a film about lesbians, but in this case it clearly did not hurt. But to reduce it only to that (positively/negatively) would not be fair to the movie and the story it tries to tell. The script is clever without trying. Of course some might only be intrigued or appalled as already mentioned by the lesbian theme. Hope you can see through that and concentrate on the movie and its themes.

It's about love in general, about loss and life and many other things. Dialog is really good, the cast is amazing. It was one of the positive surprises at the Berlin International Festival. I can only recommend it