It was always a strong 8 really, at least, but the end, as others have noted, is really weak, and actually, as others have not, so is the arty, dream-sequence opening, which nearly made me switch off.
I'm very glad I stuck with it because ultimately what stuck with me were the good parts, so good they might be 9s or even 10s. And they define the whole, a frantic, hilarious odyssey through a city, in the small but honourable tradition of Ulysses, After Hours, Slacker and The Swimme, full of brilliant little vignettes and characters, sly twists and ironies, and a carefully paid out understanding of the life we're looking at. For the first half or so especially, those vignettes are something remarkable, each one almost a little movie in itself. It's simply superb writing, perfectly executed by all concerned.
MILD SPOILERS:
The third act, as others have noted, is a major bummer of a misfire, but things weaken even before that. For me, it started losing momentum at the sister's house, with the singing, which, in my view, should have been a bit of raucous, haywire acoustic punk that left everyone speechless.
And then, just finding out who the ex is, about whom all this mad dash has been about, is a huge letdown because he seems such a dullard, but also there's a terrible lack of clarity that is near the line demarcating interesting ambiguity, but neither on nor over it in my view.
The, I think, intended reading - Izzy breaks up her ex's engagement and then dumps him as revenge - doesn't seem to fit anything about her character. Much more interesting would have been if she'd been entirely sincere about wanting him back, then just helplessly shut down and ran out on it, like the true avoidant personality she probably is, putting the cap on her trail of destruction. Either way, a little rewriting and probably some recasting - of the boyfriend - would have been required.
It's really too bad it didn't quite get there. But I'm still going to watch it again for the good bits because I love them.
I'm very glad I stuck with it because ultimately what stuck with me were the good parts, so good they might be 9s or even 10s. And they define the whole, a frantic, hilarious odyssey through a city, in the small but honourable tradition of Ulysses, After Hours, Slacker and The Swimme, full of brilliant little vignettes and characters, sly twists and ironies, and a carefully paid out understanding of the life we're looking at. For the first half or so especially, those vignettes are something remarkable, each one almost a little movie in itself. It's simply superb writing, perfectly executed by all concerned.
MILD SPOILERS:
The third act, as others have noted, is a major bummer of a misfire, but things weaken even before that. For me, it started losing momentum at the sister's house, with the singing, which, in my view, should have been a bit of raucous, haywire acoustic punk that left everyone speechless.
And then, just finding out who the ex is, about whom all this mad dash has been about, is a huge letdown because he seems such a dullard, but also there's a terrible lack of clarity that is near the line demarcating interesting ambiguity, but neither on nor over it in my view.
The, I think, intended reading - Izzy breaks up her ex's engagement and then dumps him as revenge - doesn't seem to fit anything about her character. Much more interesting would have been if she'd been entirely sincere about wanting him back, then just helplessly shut down and ran out on it, like the true avoidant personality she probably is, putting the cap on her trail of destruction. Either way, a little rewriting and probably some recasting - of the boyfriend - would have been required.
It's really too bad it didn't quite get there. But I'm still going to watch it again for the good bits because I love them.