My main takeaway when I left the theater this evening after watching this film, was that it was far too long and had probably one storyline too many to make this movie fly, but instead after the first act, it drags, and drags, and drags.
The funny thing is, the best moments of this film are within the first hour. The less cohesive and more chaotic the film was, the more exciting it felt. After that point though, the film falls apart, the plotlines stray and the film has maybe 50% of the crazy energy that the first third had. It attempts to try and regain that energy in the finale, but doesn't quite capture what came before it. It turns from debauchery to horror, and it didn't gel well for me. Felt like the tone contradicted itself from where it began.
The acting on the other hand is fantastic. Robbie and Pitt are electric, and the way Diego Calva can emote without saying anything is brilliant. I just wished the script and direction from La La Land writer/director Damien Chazelle was as good as the acting. Sometimes, the film felt like I was watching four films at the same time. Each of these plotlines could have had their own movies and seeing them all jumbled together here felt self indulgent and exhausting by the end of it. Only one of the storylines have any sort of ending that makes it feel justified in it's telling. Afterward, when the credits start to roll, you're just sat there with no feeling for what you just witnessed for a little over three hours.
Overall, I only recommend for people who don't mind the three hour runtime, but keep in mind that the films plot goes absolutely nowhere, and although it might be a fun trip at times, it is a rather pointless one.
2 talking pictures out of 5.
The funny thing is, the best moments of this film are within the first hour. The less cohesive and more chaotic the film was, the more exciting it felt. After that point though, the film falls apart, the plotlines stray and the film has maybe 50% of the crazy energy that the first third had. It attempts to try and regain that energy in the finale, but doesn't quite capture what came before it. It turns from debauchery to horror, and it didn't gel well for me. Felt like the tone contradicted itself from where it began.
The acting on the other hand is fantastic. Robbie and Pitt are electric, and the way Diego Calva can emote without saying anything is brilliant. I just wished the script and direction from La La Land writer/director Damien Chazelle was as good as the acting. Sometimes, the film felt like I was watching four films at the same time. Each of these plotlines could have had their own movies and seeing them all jumbled together here felt self indulgent and exhausting by the end of it. Only one of the storylines have any sort of ending that makes it feel justified in it's telling. Afterward, when the credits start to roll, you're just sat there with no feeling for what you just witnessed for a little over three hours.
Overall, I only recommend for people who don't mind the three hour runtime, but keep in mind that the films plot goes absolutely nowhere, and although it might be a fun trip at times, it is a rather pointless one.
2 talking pictures out of 5.