Archie-Leech

A beautiful examination of a mom's pursuit to unearth the truth. Meticulous research. Beautifully displayed. This story stays with you. The only criticism would be it is such a captivating story I sense that with a little less Netflix paint by numbers storytelling and a little more artistry - this could've been 2020s The Thin Blue Line. Not being dismissive but the "walk into the fire" theme felt like a 13 year old trying to wrap a lame poem around a very serious and heart wrenching story. All said, I've been sat here thinking about the events, the characters, and the failure of the state to protect this poor little girl... it's a harrowing entry into true crime.

Even in B Grade schlock you feel empathy, hate or some base emotion for the characters. Some kind character development is a cherry on top. With Asteroid City you feel zilch. You don't care for any of the characters, so when they leave one by one in the shadows you don't even go "where have they gone again?" In short, beautiful styling and a stab at a meta screenplay but I really just don't care for anyone or anything in the film. And because of that, I am left feeling bored. Like truly bored. Which is a shame given the acting talent that has been collated and displayed for our viewing entertainment.