It's so exhausting. Last year I spent most of my time watching films from the 1930's. They managed to cram whole lifetimes into 70 minutes with not a moment wasted. Epics used to be about something significant. Wars, feuds, sweeping romances. Now we get sad Japanese men moping around in cars for 3 fucking hours. Don't think I saw a single release the whole of last year that couldn't have done with at least 20 mins cut out of the middle.
Yeah, and I hate the whole ‘yall just don’t have the attention span!!!’ argument. There are plenty of 3 hour movies which absolutely fly by - the newer ones just simply don’t.
The way my friend has been prostrating himself over this movie in every conversation I was expecting something deeply profound. I found it to be incredibly surface? Maybe I need to watch it again but it didn’t click for me at all.
I thought Drive My Car was incredibly elegant and moving. If you don’t like a slow pace and quiet atmosphere (I do) you’re going to struggle but the tentative, drawn-out approach was perfect for the themes explored - grief, acceptance (or the lack thereof) and the impossibility of meaningful communication, even with the one you love the most. Rather than being surface level, I found it dense with ideas! But all presented in such an unfussy, thoughtful manner - there’s a level of respect extended to the viewer (that you don’t get a lot of in the kinds of movies usually mentioned in this thread lol), like Ryusuke Hamaguchi trusts you to sift through the ambiguities and come to your own conclusions. It’s a lovely film.
I accept all of that but it's 3 hours long. THREE HOURS!!!! Lincoln freed the slaves in 2h 30m. There are long stretches where absolutely nothing happens. I'm not even exaggerating. Literally nothing happens. Every time you think the plot is about to kick in it just peters out. I was at about the 2 hour mark when I realised it was never going to actually start. I didn't hate it. I wasn't bored exactly, just totally uninvolved. There's no reason for it to be over 1h 40m It was showing in a tiny 20 seat cinema near me a few weeks ago. I nearly went but wasn’t sure if I could face the length. Really wish I had done so, as them at least I could have got the whole thing over with in one go rather than the 5 attempts over 3 days that it actually took me watching the screener I received. I know it's been hoovering up the critics awards but are Academy members going to sit through it when Flee and A Hero and The Hand of God are right there and far more easily digestible?
I watched it in a lovely cosy Curzon theatre on a rainy day in London in December, which was probably the perfect way to watch it - I definitely would have struggled with it at home.
Just watched Mass (it’s on Sky/Now as of today). How in the hell are none of them (Plimpton especially) not all over all the acting categories? The film itself is very good. I’d be surprised if it didn’t end up as a play at some point. It’s made for the stage really.
It's so weird. Feels like a poorly expanded stage production but was never actually meant to be a play. I liked it but really hard to understand how it's an original screenplay. Great perfs but I don't think anyone has seen it. The subject matter is not exactly inviting when choosing from the screener pile.
Drive My Ca was the best movie I've saw in 2021 probably. Dense with ideas and emotion (I truly didn't see the 3 hours go by - I was deeply connected to these people and could've watched much more).
I don't think being a Sky Cinema exclusive has done its profile here much good either. I haven't seen Drive My Car (missed it when my local independent place showed it) but A Hero is fantastic. Must get round to watching The Hand of God as well.
I have been saying this since I saw it Sundance virtually a year ago. Dowd may have the show-y moment at the end but the sheer work Plimpton puts in building up to *that moment* was both heartbreaking and sublimely freeing for her character. Bleecker dropped the ball majorly with the film. They gave it a terrible theatrical rollout and have barely advertised the digital or Blu-ray/DVD release. Hell, they’re only campaigning the film now because Ann got in at Critics Choice and the Best Ensemble at the Indie Spirits. It really shouldn’t be considering Fran said he took inspiration from Sue Klebold’s book. I guess because it isn’t directly adapted, it gets a pass?
