arthousefilms-68-939717

What a brilliant movie. The acting and the casting was fantastic across the board. This film was a slow burn that always kept tugging me along with wildly unexpected and intriguing plot twists. It's a direct allegory to modern society and an extremely strong one at that. Sometimes, the allegory might feel a bit too on the nose, but I think that was important in order to clearly illustrate the morals of the story that might be missed if it were more nuanced.

There were so many things I loved about this movie: tone, cinematography, themes, and twists. It reminded me a bit of "The White Lotus."

RIght out the gate, the restaurant bill scene was pure genius and fantastically written and acted.

Woody Harrilson's role feels a bit like a cameo, but he was effective and perfectly cast as the ship's captain.

You could say that the film forgot about its main romantic characters for a big chunk of the film, but then again, I can see that lapse as working into the allegory as well.

There is a seasick scene that went on for what felt like WAY too long. But again, in considering the film as a whole, I understand the point of belaboring that scene.

The ending scene was absolutely brilliant on so many levels and commented on the modern-day caste system of our society, as well as the superficial nature of modern living. And there were several other powerful themes wrapped into the ending scene.

As an American, I always find the pace and tone of European film style to be refreshing. And this film delivered on that a-conventional storytelling.

Kudos to Ruben Östlund for bringing this gem into the world.

This is a very important documentary to expose the ways of the British Monarchy. The public never got a chance to hear the real truth before. They had always been slandered and maligned due to covert and overt racism and by the fact that the royals couldn't accept someone taking a part of their limelight.

This couple is brave and forthcoming. It was a refreshing and enlightening perspective and the public finally gets to learn the truth about how they were bullied out of the monarchy.

I hope they go on to become mega successful and enjoy much happiness on their journey.

It was an absolute joy to see how much love they share for each other. Actually, it was adorable. Bravo for them. Bravo for Meghan.

Every frame of this film was a delight! It was truly firing on all cylinders in this genre, the genre of cool, indie romances.

First off, the casting was off the hook! Liesha Ward Knox, the main woman, was like watching magic on screen. She was so connected to every moment, every word, every look, that it made the film really come alive. Seriously, she is an absolutely outstanding actor with incredible charisma radiating off of her! What a treat it was to experience the character through her! She is so gifted, she could read the iPhone disclaimer and make it compelling to an audience.

But they say, 90% of a director's job is casting. So my hat goes off to auteur director, Guy Pigden, who also acted in the lead role, wrote the screenplay, produced and edited this incredible film!! Even one of those film jobs is tough for a person to succeed at, but Guy tackled all of them at once!!!!! Wow!! He had the perfect touch in letting the scenes play out and breathe without overdoing it.

Guy's realization of the Alex character was perfectly handled to deliver a really satisfying character throughout the whole movie. It's really hard to direct and act at the same time, but Guy completely pulled it off.

As an editor, Guy had a really nice touch! There were some spicy moments, but the editing style fit the tone and never felt gratuitous or merely ornamental.

The rest of the cast was equally engaging and Guy did a super job of balancing their characters' storylines to fully support the overall story.

Astra McLaren was also perfectly cast to complete the love triangle. She was really interesting and made strong choices in bringing out the character. The beach scene at the end was fantastic.

The story itself, was not nothing new and had a lot of the same beats we are used to in the genre, but the magic came in the execution. It's just like with food. You can order a cheap plate of spaghetti from a terrible restaurant, or you can order gourmet pasta from a 5-star restaurant. Sure, they are both noodles, but one is sublime. That's how this story felt when all the ingredients perfectly blended to transcend the screen.

For many people, escapism for movies is going to see a big, familiar, action blockbuster that features things blowing up and people in superhero costumes. For me, escapism is being completely unaware of a film or its trappings and watching it unfold with no idea what the next moment will bring. That's how this film was. It was fresh and intriguing to watch unfold.

Major kudos to Guy Pigden for this outstanding work and major kudos to the actors, especially Liesha Ward Knox, for making this film amazing! This film gets 5 full stars.