I'm always wary about films with a huge discrepancy between critics and audience reactions, mostly because it typically means a film is either considered pretentious or dumb-fun. That's just the reality of current hollywood. The Souvenir is a movie that you experience more as a spectator from afar rather than something you feel any sort of intimate connection to. It feels like the audio is intentionally hard to dissect, with some scenes either cutting mid conversation or beginning towards the end of one without any sort of context. Which can certainly be a good thing if you're into that sort of filmmaking. I respect anyone's opinion that found Jennifer Kent's direction to be moving and impactful. But I unfortunately found the film to be dull and lacking in personality. For a similar story but better in execution, see 2017's 'Beast'.
4.7/10
4.7/10