Deep, soul-crushing regret is something many of us as humans share -- whether criminal, interpersonal, or career-oriented, we carry this baggage with us everywhere we go. It penetrates our psyche, our relationships, our friendships, and the way we carry on daily life. It can drive people to do things suddenly and out of impulse, often to the destruction of everyone around them.
Welcome to "I Melt With You." This artistic, visually stunning drama takes four middle-aged college friends, each with their own baggage, to the coasts of central California for a rowdy reunion of one week. Rivers of bourbon will flow, casual sex will be had, and -- oh yes -- there will be drugs. Lots of 'em.
Things take a nasty turn, however, when an oath made their senior year of college resurfaces. Unfortunately, to say any more of the story would be treading in "spoiler" territory. Therefore, I apologize in advance if this review seems disjointed. For such a mediocre film, there is a lot to say about it, and not a lot of spoiler-free foundation on which to base a review.
"I Melt With You" works in a few very key ways, and utterly fails in many others. The cinematography is absolutely stunning -- the film is shot on location with a digital camera and makes use of gorgeous vistas, colors, and surrealist imagery. The acting is also very strong and every one of the four main actors deliver their absolute best with the material they were given to work with. And the soundtrack is absolutely killer -- 80s post-punk and indie rock may as well be another character in the film when you consider how frequently and effectively the soundtrack is used.
Now let's move onto what doesn't work. Immediately, the excessive partying displayed by the four characters bothered me because it just didn't seem realistic. I get that these four guys are each carrying around some serious baggage and are displaying some behavioral issues, but at least 1/3rd of this film is made up of sequences of pill snorting and partying. If these sequences were shortened by 50%, there would be no effectiveness lost to the film's message and there would've been ample more time to develop more likable characters.
And man, trust me when I say that these guys are some real Grade-A douchebags. This film is supposed to depict the self-destruction of four otherwise likable guys from regret and past mistakes. I think the viewer's heartstrings are supposed to be tugged on, and maybe we're supposed to develop sympathy (or even empathy) with these characters. But with these jerkoffs it just never happened for me. Instead of examining some of my own guilt in life and thinking "wow, this is eerily close to a fever dream for me, please show me more and help me hate myself" (because THAT would be a good movie), I'm thinking "oh. that sucks. sorry, why do I care?"
Therefore, without this very crucial piece of foundation, the film falls apart. This isn't "Requiem for a Dream" or "Trainspotting" where we actually get to know and care about our protagonists. We don't feel sorry for the characters in this film. Well, maybe some do...I didn't. If you are a 44-year-old man who snorts coke with his college friends and never reached emotional maturity, then maybe you'll relate.
Overall, yes, this film offers some good things but they're nothing that can't be had in better and larger quantities in other great addiction dramas. Unless you're a total cinematography nerd, it's not worth the watch in my opinion.
Welcome to "I Melt With You." This artistic, visually stunning drama takes four middle-aged college friends, each with their own baggage, to the coasts of central California for a rowdy reunion of one week. Rivers of bourbon will flow, casual sex will be had, and -- oh yes -- there will be drugs. Lots of 'em.
Things take a nasty turn, however, when an oath made their senior year of college resurfaces. Unfortunately, to say any more of the story would be treading in "spoiler" territory. Therefore, I apologize in advance if this review seems disjointed. For such a mediocre film, there is a lot to say about it, and not a lot of spoiler-free foundation on which to base a review.
"I Melt With You" works in a few very key ways, and utterly fails in many others. The cinematography is absolutely stunning -- the film is shot on location with a digital camera and makes use of gorgeous vistas, colors, and surrealist imagery. The acting is also very strong and every one of the four main actors deliver their absolute best with the material they were given to work with. And the soundtrack is absolutely killer -- 80s post-punk and indie rock may as well be another character in the film when you consider how frequently and effectively the soundtrack is used.
Now let's move onto what doesn't work. Immediately, the excessive partying displayed by the four characters bothered me because it just didn't seem realistic. I get that these four guys are each carrying around some serious baggage and are displaying some behavioral issues, but at least 1/3rd of this film is made up of sequences of pill snorting and partying. If these sequences were shortened by 50%, there would be no effectiveness lost to the film's message and there would've been ample more time to develop more likable characters.
And man, trust me when I say that these guys are some real Grade-A douchebags. This film is supposed to depict the self-destruction of four otherwise likable guys from regret and past mistakes. I think the viewer's heartstrings are supposed to be tugged on, and maybe we're supposed to develop sympathy (or even empathy) with these characters. But with these jerkoffs it just never happened for me. Instead of examining some of my own guilt in life and thinking "wow, this is eerily close to a fever dream for me, please show me more and help me hate myself" (because THAT would be a good movie), I'm thinking "oh. that sucks. sorry, why do I care?"
Therefore, without this very crucial piece of foundation, the film falls apart. This isn't "Requiem for a Dream" or "Trainspotting" where we actually get to know and care about our protagonists. We don't feel sorry for the characters in this film. Well, maybe some do...I didn't. If you are a 44-year-old man who snorts coke with his college friends and never reached emotional maturity, then maybe you'll relate.
Overall, yes, this film offers some good things but they're nothing that can't be had in better and larger quantities in other great addiction dramas. Unless you're a total cinematography nerd, it's not worth the watch in my opinion.