Bottom of the World (2017) User Reviews

Dive into your subconscious...

[Corlissa0994 · 6/10 · 27 November 2017]

This film having taking cues from Film makers such as David Lynch, Richard Kelly, and Adrian Lyne, still manages to hold its own unique eeriness and maintain attention from the viewer.

Spoilers:

This movie moves quite a bit, and is very tricky in that the most active character Alex is not even a real entity, but a complex manifestation of Scarlett's last living moments. The movie takes a classic approach to letting the story "unravel" to finally understand what actually is happening as the movie wraps up.

My take:

Scarlett is a young woman who when she was growing up tortured for several years and then eventually murdered her handicapped cousin by burying him alive in a open fire pit. She made up a cover story to family and police that a burglar had broken in, killed her cousin and proceeded to rape her. Her story was believed by all, and even assured her sympathy and support.

The movie we see, is in her subconscious during her suicide by pills and alcohol. Even though she has overdosed, she is not brain dead and therefore piecing through a land of guilt, confusion and retribution.

Alex is only a piece of her mind, and actually a part of Scarlett. Alex represents her confusion, her guilt, her comfort and finally her penance and self realization.

Right at the beginning when they get to the Ranch, you see Scarlett immediately jumps right in to the thick of it by asking Alex what the most horrible thing he has even done. She proceeds to tell the detailed horrific story of her cousin, (leaving out the murder at this time) and then quickly pretend it was just a joke. This being the first moments of her being honest with herself of what happened, and yet not being fully ready to deal with it. Not long after,you see her start to break down with fear and sadness as she is starting to let in the truth of her guilt and horrible actions. With these feelings fear and confusion almost innocent, she finds comfort and is drawn to her father, represented by the Preacher who first appears on their hotel TV.

The entity of Scarlett disappears, and then the part of her that is Alex now has to piece apart the confusion, and along the way is faced with her biggest fears, her fate, her dark side, which is the hooded man that "buries" people alive. (this is no coincidence)

The merging of all the cloudy pieces comes when Alex finally goes to her house to understand more of whats going on. We find that the image of Alex, may have been just a neighbor she saw in her waking life that she had a small attraction or obsessiveness with, but no real relationship. She acknowledges that he is in her closet, and demands for him to just take what he is there for. Hence, rape her. She is expecting to be punished, by having all of her own lies and actions come back and really happen to her, thus her lying about a man murdering the cousin and raping her. He reluctantly denies her, and then accuses him of raping her yet again, when her father enters the room.

Then Alex takes Scarlett to her old house where she had murdered her cousin, and where she had lied to cover it up. All of her guilty truths are told, and Alex punishes her but burying her in the dirt. This is way she felt she deserved to be punished, and therefore can die in peace. They then show her true body in the conscious world die in a bed after the overdose.

A well done film that you may need to watch twice to see all of the hidden potential. Great acting on all parts, and a great story.

I'm so confused

[fierce221 · 5/10 · 23 December 2019]

This movie is extremely confusing and will leave it up to you to decide what you think this movie is about. Why the main character seems to represent three different people at the end, I'll never know. I wouldn't recommend this to people unless they enjoy trying to figure movies out. If you ask me, this movie was all over the place and really made no sense at all.

Bottom of the World ....meh

[robert_cave · 4/10 · 29 April 2017]

To be brief and to the point. This movie thinks it is more clever than it actually is. The acting is pretty good but the story and the constant going back and forth between dreams, flashback and reality is a gimmick that's just meant to confuse the viewer until the "great reveal". Not so great, in my opinion. This type of storytelling has been done before.

If you're easily entertained then it should be enjoyable

[jushwadezmin · 2/10 · 29 November 2018]

As many have stated, this isn't your average film. However that's not always a good thing. It jumps all over, never explains enough, and that's the cliche... Like I said, if you're easily amused (take no offense to that I'm envious of you people) then you'll most likely enjoy it, and think it's the modern day inception. But if you like a little substance / depth to your movies then you're going to be disappointed. If you've ever seen the movie Momento then this is very similair. Except, if you like Momento (amazing movie) you'll hate this. Momento was a non-linear store with a digestible plot. The plot of this movie however is non-existent. And tricks many viewers into thinking it's deep & mysterious. When in reality it's just a poorly made film.

Try Hard

[xposipx · 4/10 · 12 March 2017]

By chance, I watched this the same day I saw Jim Jarmusch's Paterson. Both are similar, but both fail for completely different reasons.

Bottom of the World does not know what it wants to be. It tells a non- linear story that gives itself away about 40 minutes into the film. After that, it follows a predictable path of key symbols to clue the viewer in to what is actually happening. It should have gone a completely different route and stuck with the bizarre, weird, sleazy feel it had at the beginning. It turns into a very underwhelming second half as it drifts away and fades into the same trap many other similar movies fall into. It tries too hard to pull a complicated story together in a very silly way.

The pace and acting are appropriate and the director does a good job with atmosphere and mood, but it falls flat overall.

Bad attempt at Lynch tropes by someone who doesn't understand Lynch

[TheManInOil · 4/10 · 29 April 2017]

This is a movie that offers an assortment of David Lynch trademarks, in service of a story that's all surface and has none of the pervasive worldview - the perspective - of a David Lynch film. It reads as homage, I guess, but aside from the flattery of imitation it has nothing to offer.

Elements of Lost Highway, Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart are pretty obvious. There's even a lamp with a red shade.

I guess if, like the filmmakers, you enjoy Lynch and have no idea why, you might like this. But if you like substance with your knockoff style, move along.

Not for everyone, but I enjoyed it

[jtindahouse · 7/10 · 18 February 2017]

I kind of liked 'Bottom of the World'. I make no bones about the fact I'm a fan of the 'mystery' genre, and this film certainly had an element of mystery to it. It's a film where the audience knows as little about what's going on as the characters (if not even less at times), yet there are constant hints as to the direction our thinking should be going in. Then a nice little ending was the icing on the cake.

The whole "nothing makes sense, what is going on?" thing has been done in movies thousands of times over the years, but it always seems to work. I think in a way, much like a magic show, the audience wants to be fooled, or at least in a state of curiosity. It can also be quite easy for film makers to pull off, because the usual linear film making techniques obviously go out the window, and thus it can be harder for an audience to judge what is actually good and what is not.

Some people on the other hand will always hate this type of film and that's fine. I see 'Bottom of the World' being a very polarising film. Some will have a great time with it, while others will utterly despise it. I was in the former camp.

Doesn't make any sense

[deloudelouvain · 3/10 · 1 April 2017]

Like another reviewer said it's not for everyone. He couldn't be more right. It's not for everyone, especially not for me. I love mysteries that you have to try to solve before the end of the movie. But here it isn't a mystery. Or maybe it is but I honestly couldn't be bothered knowing what it is. The beginning is promising but then it's all going downhill. The story doesn't make much sense, and maybe for somebody that like to think a lot when he's watching a movie it does make sense. I'm not one of those. I like stories with a beginning, a middle and an end, easy stories to follow. Movies like this one are just a waste of time and money to me. The actors are not bad, the story is though. There is not much more to say about Bottom Of The World.

The weight of guilt cannot be underestimated

[jenniferevangelista · 7/10 · 18 March 2017]

A complex puzzle about karma coming back and striking an individual after committing a sin. Redemption is never easy. My theory is that Scarlet imagines a world in which her victim survived while she's stuck in purgatory. I enjoyed the clues that are given along the way that hint at a non- reality. Watch closely or go back to see. This is ultimately Scarlet's manifestation brought upon by guilt/redemption. A different take on Heaven and Hell. This should be a MUST VIEW for anyone studying theology/religion.

Meh

[patrick-t-apple · 3/10 · 7 May 2018]

I'm not sure what this film is trying to be or what it is trying to say. It's weird but it lingers in purgatory.

My theory ----

[janicethompson-37964 · 8/10 · 27 April 2017]

Here's what I took: The anecdote of her cousin Wayne that she tells in the beginning is true. At first I wrote the story off as a simple and needless tale based used for shock value (poor writing), but it's so over the top and grotesque that as a viewer, it's so ridiculous that you don't want to believe it, or even regard it as a necessary bit of information because she tells it as a fake story to make Alex squirm. So you forget about it, because at this point, Scarlett is depicted as facetious and maybe a bit unstable. Jumping to the end, you find out that she really committed the heinous acts that she describes in the beginning. Alex is a part of her subconscious, the fact that he has developed sentience within her own delusion is a deeper part of her subconscious that is condemning her as she is unable to process her own guilt (EG her heavy alcoholism). It's a very interesting way to tell a story, as she takes the backseat in the focal point of the story that is 100% in her own head. Now whether she is "delusional", or there are actual spiritual forces at work within the two realms of Alex's initial reality, and the second one where he is her neighbor is sort of up to interpretation. Notice the scene where Paige, (Alex's wife) is counting peas in the kitchen, and it immediately swaps to her holding a glass of milk, as if it's a glitch, this is a tell that he is not in the realm of true reality when they knew each other, or when they're neighbors. Alex is the embodiment of her guilt and shame and also the judgement of maybe a supernatural entity, so he isn't necessarily a person, more of a shifting presence. Alex never existed, she conjured him up.

Strangely interesting --

[bruceluper · 7/10 · 31 March 2017]

Easily one of the strangest and most confusing films I've ever seen, Bottom of the World. is also a captivating and intriguing film. Most people will probably hate it, but for some reason I was fascinated by it...some scenes are very suspenseful and creepy, others are wonderfully strange and surreal. Also seems to be a religious angle to the film as it deals with sin guilt, redemption and purgatory. Far out.

Nothing for us plain people

[albert_holton · 3/10 · 8 September 2019]

This is a pretentious and obscure movie. I didn't really get the plot of the ending. Don't misjudge me, I'm a big fan of thrillers and horror, bit this piece wasn't for me. I wouldn't recomend it to anyone else as plain as me.

Well, of course people didn't like it.

[fedor8 · 21 July 2018]

"Hollywood has dumbed down audiences so much that they are ill equipped to react with anything but anger to any movie that challenges them to think."

I completely agree with this statement. Once again a surreal movie gets undeserved hate, but this time from pseudo-intellectual "movie buffs" as well as the rabble. Because, ironically, film buffs have the worst taste in films, just as music "fans" who "listen" to 50,000 albums per year have no understanding of music.

The only bigger drawback in BOTW I can find would be part of the premise: that a person with such sadistic and violent tendencies would actually feel a surge of guilt so overwhelming that it would drive them to alcoholism then suicide. That, of course, isn't impossible, but is more than a little far-fetched. But considering that liberalism has infiltrated and brainwashed most of the "Free" West (well, it used to be free until recently), it is no wonder that a westerner would choose to believe that truly evil people without guilt don't exist; the writer doesn't say as much, but he might subscribe to this idiocy, just as the vast majority of film-makers do. Most film-makers are detached from the real world, quite incapable of dealing with its ugliness, so they go into denial mode.

Still, that's just a minor point in the grand scheme of all script-related things. The film has just the right mood to draw you in from the very beginning, making you suspect something weird is going on. Sure, the "it was all a dream" twist is hardly new, but this time the film openly tells you as much, fairly early on. It's not just about the twist anyway, the resolution (which is partly anyway open to personal interpretation), it's about being forced to face a challenging puzzle that is the antidote to any dumb Oscar-winning flick - or "Police Academy 5", whichever bores you more.

Comparisons to David Lynch are flawed, because this movie does make sense, whereas his silly, overrated enigmas ("Lost Highway", "Mulholland Drive") make zero sense because they're amalgamations of random nonsense presented as meaningful, profound messages. This helps explain why snobs, hipsters and the masses hate films like this: the snobs don't consider it abstract enough (i.e. they prefer vague nonsense into which they can inject any subjective interpretation they wish to) and masses hate it because it confuses them. Hence the low ratings on movie sites.

I'm a sucker for this "what's reality" type of fantasy drama. so maybe I'm not the one to be especially objective when I discuss them. Nevertheless, all "bias" aside, anyone with a smidgen of taste should recognize the film's obvious qualities.

Bottom of the IMDb ratings

[Top_Dawg_Critic · 2/10 · 15 February 2017]

So here we have of what I think was an attempt to make a cult type film.

But what we end up with after watching only 40 mins of Bottom Of The World is the bottom of the IMDb ratings for another mess.

There may have been some potential here, but the girl was just annoying as the flashbacks that didn't make any sense.

Then this shady character who needs a new ski mask and some vocal coaching shows up and then it went even more downhill from there.

I'm guessing this was a religious type film from the constant church crosses and preacher on the TV all the time (I was begging for the actors to change the channel he was so annoying, but no success).

Seriously, don't waste your time... I couldn't get past the desert scene (approx 30-40 mins in?) before I said "enough of this garbage".

....a dark hypnotic mystery?

[terrancegore · 3/10 · 22 May 2018]

The blurb for this film is interesting; apparently it is "a dark, hypnotic mystery that transcends the limitations of traditional narrative."

My opinion is slightly different and can be summed up in two words;

Pretentious Pish.

This movie tries too hard.

[ten-thousand-marbles · 3/10 · 8 August 2020]

Here we have a film attempting the idea of alternate realities. It fails miserably. It was odd enough to keep my attention, but it lacks any type of substance. The story is two dimensional and there is no real plot to speak of. All the elements are here but there was nothing to bring it all together. It's disjointed and just makes no sense.

Surprising little gem of a film . . .

[charles000 · 7/10 · 28 May 2017]

I was a little bit skeptical going in, but thought it might be worth a watch just to see Jena Malone do her thing here.

More than a bit surprised, this was a clever puzzle wrapped in an enigma that requires more than a bit of attention paid to subtle details sprinkled into what seems to be a jagged form of editing, but is remarkably well resolved in the end. Jena definitely delivers what may be her best character study yet, but that's not to take away from Douglas Smith, who did an equally plausible job portraying a young guy caught up in a seemingly impossible situation.

I simply can't reveal what that "seemingly impossible situation" actually is, in that would be an obvious spoiler, but to discover just how far out that resolution is, you're just going to have to watch for yourself. Trust me on this one, it's worth the wait to find out.

Along the way in this uniquely twisted adventure are all sorts of quirky characters, which at first glance might seem to be absurdly overdone cliché' character concept representations, until the actual context becomes more apparent. Then it all begins to make sense . . . sort of . . . until the very end.

For some, this might take a bit of patience. There are moments which seem bizarrely out of context, or just don't seem to fit into what appears to be the story of the moment. But that's the key here. Time can be a fluid medium, depending on where one might happen to be in a yet to be fully defined version of reality.

Having said that, there were some clumsy moments where the editing definitely could have fit together better, or scenes that appear to be more than a bit rough around the edges, but the given the uniquely original story and how it's told, a certain amount of forgiveness can be granted for such imperfections.

Maybe not the best, but certainly not the worst of such attempts at this sort of genre'.

A solid seven stars for me . . .

Disappointed

[lerrussell · 4/10 · 17 June 2019]

I had such high hopes for this film after seeing it pop up in my recommendations. It starts well and has an intense vibe with a sense of mystery and dark foreboding, but actually in the end turns out to be a rather boring attempt at psychological thriller. It wasn't totally unwatchable and the acting itself was not bad but there was so much more potential they could have used for this film.

I should have figured this out sooner

[labng · 6/10 · 11 August 2019]

Her "joke" in the beginning of the film was off the charts disturbing. Even though I didn't know it's relevance at the time, l thought there's something really wrong with a person who can make up such a gruesome story and on top of that to find it funny. It was also a little jarring to see Jena Malone playing the bad girl as she has a very young and angelic look about her. It wasn't great, but I did think it was good.

Wasting of time 😏

[abonizar · 3/10 · 27 March 2021]

Wasting of time 😏😏 Wasting of time Wasting of time.

Requires some work to figure it all out but worth it...

[demigodx · 8/10 · 3 April 2017]

This movie is artistic, confusing, and trippy. If you like strange/complex it is a most creative film. It might be confusing at some parts but that just made it better. Movies today don't put responsibility on the viewer to figure out what is going on and this film does that. Not only that but the Scarlett character is amazing and devastating all at once. Acting is done very well, Jena Malone was great in her role of Scarlet and Ted Levine did a decent job with his character too. Direction is top notch and I will definitely check other movies done by this director. Overall this movie was a joy ride for me and I give it a well deserved 8 star rating.

Not your average movie.It was captivating though.

[peterp-450-298716 · 6/10 · 18 June 2017]

"Wayne was doing really weird things with his eyeballs. Wayne's dad was a Marine. It turns out he was doing Morse code with his eyes. He was saying, "SOS, SOS, SOS, SOS., over and over and over."

Perhaps I'm a weird personality. That's the reason why I really enjoy movies like "Bottom of the World". Contrarious, difficult to understand, confusing and slightly disturbing. As the denouement kicked in and the inextricable story became a little bit clearer, I was totally stunned. It was undeniably clear to me that I wanted to watch this weird movie again one day. Only to discover other clues. Clues that escaped me. I fully realize that most people who saw this movie, won't like it at all. Many will see it as a waste of time. A meaningless, dumb film with an incomprehensible story-line.

To be honest, I had that same feeling after the first 15 minutes. We see Scarlett (Jena Malone) and Alex (Douglas Smith) cruising across the US. Two youngsters in an old, American car, on their way to L.A. and enduring the scorching heat of the desert. Where do they actually come from? What goal are they aiming for? And where are they exactly? I had no idea. They decide to spend the night in a strange looking hotel, with an impressive and magical looking lobby, while the part where the guestrooms are situated, resembles that of a cheap motel. And then one absurd fact follows after another. A local television channel with a pseudo preacher (Ted Levine) proclaiming religious messages. A weirdo who observes their room at night. And then Scarlett seems unable to leave town without feeling as if her head explodes. And finally she disappears.

And then there's even bigger confusion when Alex wakes up in a seemingly different life as a married, well earning husband. Even more weird. The woman living next door is Scarlett. From here on, the story lines seem to twist around another like cooked spaghetti and there are several facts that refer to what's real. I'm not such a big fan of films full of symbolism and metaphysical states. The makers tried to find a proper balance between reality and a sort of dream phase. In the end I was wondering which personage actually exists and which personage originated from a subconscious mind. I assume that everything has to do with a guilt feelings caused by an unacceptable act from the past. (Think this is a hazy description? Well that's intentionally.)

Jena Malone is no Scarlett Johansson, but in a way she succeeded in looking sensual and seductive. On the other hand, she also appears to have perverse traits and you start to question her mental health. The story she tells about her nephew and the way she treated him, isn't something a mentally healthy person could come up with. Even if its purpose was just to shock Alex. Personally, I thought Douglas Smith acted rather soft and absent. And wasn't he a bit too young to be a married guy? At first I thought it was his mother in the kitchen. All in all, a fascinating film that leaves you behind with more questions than answers.

More reviews here : http://bit.ly/2qtGQoc

Absolutely worse movie ever created

[lechtenbergjohn · 1/10 · 2 February 2020]

Horrible beginning- girl is from the start - decently good looking. Get completely lost when GF disappears. Everything moving forward from there makes you feel like you are on hallucinogenics - amd not the good kind. Developed a throbbing headache and almost puked at the end. I thought I was on some of that dolphin dandruff.

Disturbing and Dreamlike

[Lapis_Lazuli_Blue · 5 September 2017]

This film is a compelling though flawed experiment in utilizing a dreamlike/hallucinatory narrative. An ordinary seeming young couple, Scarlett (Jena Malone) and Alex (Douglas Smith), are driving across the country to LA, but she gets ill while they're in the Southwest, and they check into a shabby chic motel (the sign shifting between reading "motel" and "hotel" is one of the first clues that you're in the realm of the subconscious). Scarlett then tells a horrifying story about her systematic abuse of a helpless, paralyzed cousin in her care (before laughing it off as though it were a joke). This story, which initially seems like a weird detour, is actually the key to the whole movie.

Like An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, Jacob's Ladder, or Mulholland Dr., Bottom of the World depicts the hallucinatory final thoughts of a dying person. Scarlett, driven to suicide by guilt over her inexplicably cruel and violent acts, has deliberately overdosed, and the events of the film, until its last few moments, are occurring entirely inside her head. Consequently, Alex isn't a real person, but the kind of strange, fluid composite character you often encounter in dreams. At different times, he is her boyfriend, her ill-fated cousin, a fictitious assailant, an angel of death, and, above all, an emanation of her guilt. Likewise, a strange televangelist preacher (Ted Levine) that Alex encounters along the way is really Scarlett's father, whom her dying mind has transformed into someone giving sermons about guilt and redemption--themes that are particularly relevant to Scarlett at that moment.

Overall, I thought it was a flawed film that is worth watching, but I don't think I'll want to see it a second time. I enjoyed Levine's performance. I liked Malone, too, though I didn't quite get how someone who committed such horrifying crimes would have enough of a conscience to be overwhelmed by guilt, but that was more of a writing problem than an acting problem. I thought Smith seemed a bit too young for his role, though he was effective at times. I also appreciated the attempt to recreate the weird, fluid quality of dream narratives, but, strange as it may seem to say, I don't think the filmmakers went quite far enough in that direction.