YYYYYYYYYYyyyyyyyyyyyyyeeEEEEEEEEEEEEeessssSSSSSSSSsss, I finally watched it (REPEAT, watched it, watched it - suggest EVERYONE RUN to watch it VERY SOON as it will become another CLASSIC of Franco's).
NOVEL - READ OR NOT TO READ FIRST:
OOOOOOOOOOOOOhhhhhhhhhhhhhh WWWWWWOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWW!I'm a huge fan of Franco's anyway (in my opinion, one of the best actors of his generation and a wonderful unique director), and maybe, I'm a little bit biased at times when it comes to James Franco BUT and a VERY SERIOUS BUT after, reading sometime ago the brilliantly NASTY Southern Gothic novel (I mean come on necrophilia and murder - seriously don't try anything Lester Ballard does KIDS) by the great Cormac McCarthy (you don't necessary have to read this great novel first BUT it MIGHT truly help ground some audience members perspective better in terms of the SHOCK VALUE), this movie indeed NAILED IT (Cormac McCarthy should be PROUD) in terms of what I could remember from the novel including it's TONE in what I wanted to see.
MAIN CHARACTER:
For those who don't know the main focus of the novel/movie is a character called Lester Ballard "dispossessed violent man" with an Oscar winning performance by Scott Haze.
YES, it's all TRUE folks, he DOES indeed give an Oscar winning performance AND a performance that will be remembered for MANY years to come. Simply put, it's just masterful. That three/four months living in caves plus losing some weight to prepare for this role paid off nicely for Scott (WELL DONE).
I truly hope Haze is nominated for an Oscar (A MUST SEE PERFORMANCE, even if you watch this movie only once - watch this movie through to the end, but I think most will watch it more than once, after the initial what the f**k did I just witnessed) as well as Franco (remember, no one has ever tried to adapt this NOVEL and Franco NAILED IT, NNNNNAAAAIIIIIIILLLLLLEEEEEEDDDDD IIIIIIITTTTTTT - yet again).
No wonder, Franco recently WON the Wilde Artist of the Year (honoring a truly groundbreaking force in the fields of film, theatre and/or television) - GALECA AND achieved the Venice Film Festival Glory to the Filmmaker Award for The Sound And The Fury (after watching Child of God - the HYPE went into overdrive to SEE THIS NEXT ONE).
By the way, shout out to Tim Blake Nelson as Sheriff Fate, and Nina Ljeti as Victim 1, they gave great performances.
PARTS:
Anyway, the movie IS split into three parts with clear title cards and I loved the music and the narration which made you understand Ballard's story even better. Again, it totally got the feel of the novel, especially with the cinematography and all the technical aspects.
COMPLAINTS:
I know some folks have questioned Scott Haze teeth of all things in this movie but I personally couldn't take my eyes of his outstanding performance as a whole, so wasn't interested in just focusing on his teeth being maybe too white or not (who truly cares). Also, I'm no expert BUT I saw NOTHING wrong in any areas of problems with the Sound-Mixing, Editing, Colour Grading, etc. IMPORTANT: For the SMALL budget that Franco HAD, which came out of his OWN pocket, I think everyone involved NAILED IT.
Although, it's perfectly understandable that NOT everyone will like this movie as I have mentioned before necrophilia and murder (Yikes NO, NNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO) but it's not the QUALITY of Franco's directing that might put SOME people off (GREAT DIRECTOR), just the subject matters.
CONCLUSION:
I suggest FANS of Franco/McCarthy/Southern Gothic/Horror/LOVE OF GREAT UNIQUE MOVIES or whatever the latest catchy names are for this type of movies, OOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMGGGGGGGGGGG, SEE this low budget BUT excellent masterpiece!
Seriously, thanks Franco and everyONE INVOLVED.
NOVEL - READ OR NOT TO READ FIRST:
OOOOOOOOOOOOOhhhhhhhhhhhhhh WWWWWWOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWW!I'm a huge fan of Franco's anyway (in my opinion, one of the best actors of his generation and a wonderful unique director), and maybe, I'm a little bit biased at times when it comes to James Franco BUT and a VERY SERIOUS BUT after, reading sometime ago the brilliantly NASTY Southern Gothic novel (I mean come on necrophilia and murder - seriously don't try anything Lester Ballard does KIDS) by the great Cormac McCarthy (you don't necessary have to read this great novel first BUT it MIGHT truly help ground some audience members perspective better in terms of the SHOCK VALUE), this movie indeed NAILED IT (Cormac McCarthy should be PROUD) in terms of what I could remember from the novel including it's TONE in what I wanted to see.
MAIN CHARACTER:
For those who don't know the main focus of the novel/movie is a character called Lester Ballard "dispossessed violent man" with an Oscar winning performance by Scott Haze.
YES, it's all TRUE folks, he DOES indeed give an Oscar winning performance AND a performance that will be remembered for MANY years to come. Simply put, it's just masterful. That three/four months living in caves plus losing some weight to prepare for this role paid off nicely for Scott (WELL DONE).
I truly hope Haze is nominated for an Oscar (A MUST SEE PERFORMANCE, even if you watch this movie only once - watch this movie through to the end, but I think most will watch it more than once, after the initial what the f**k did I just witnessed) as well as Franco (remember, no one has ever tried to adapt this NOVEL and Franco NAILED IT, NNNNNAAAAIIIIIIILLLLLLEEEEEEDDDDD IIIIIIITTTTTTT - yet again).
No wonder, Franco recently WON the Wilde Artist of the Year (honoring a truly groundbreaking force in the fields of film, theatre and/or television) - GALECA AND achieved the Venice Film Festival Glory to the Filmmaker Award for The Sound And The Fury (after watching Child of God - the HYPE went into overdrive to SEE THIS NEXT ONE).
By the way, shout out to Tim Blake Nelson as Sheriff Fate, and Nina Ljeti as Victim 1, they gave great performances.
PARTS:
Anyway, the movie IS split into three parts with clear title cards and I loved the music and the narration which made you understand Ballard's story even better. Again, it totally got the feel of the novel, especially with the cinematography and all the technical aspects.
COMPLAINTS:
I know some folks have questioned Scott Haze teeth of all things in this movie but I personally couldn't take my eyes of his outstanding performance as a whole, so wasn't interested in just focusing on his teeth being maybe too white or not (who truly cares). Also, I'm no expert BUT I saw NOTHING wrong in any areas of problems with the Sound-Mixing, Editing, Colour Grading, etc. IMPORTANT: For the SMALL budget that Franco HAD, which came out of his OWN pocket, I think everyone involved NAILED IT.
Although, it's perfectly understandable that NOT everyone will like this movie as I have mentioned before necrophilia and murder (Yikes NO, NNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO) but it's not the QUALITY of Franco's directing that might put SOME people off (GREAT DIRECTOR), just the subject matters.
CONCLUSION:
I suggest FANS of Franco/McCarthy/Southern Gothic/Horror/LOVE OF GREAT UNIQUE MOVIES or whatever the latest catchy names are for this type of movies, OOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMGGGGGGGGGGG, SEE this low budget BUT excellent masterpiece!
Seriously, thanks Franco and everyONE INVOLVED.