Astounding. Impeccably crafted drama. The story is sad and very serious, but this is one of the most perfect examples of the art of simple dramatic film-making that exists. This is film storytelling at its pinnacle. On a scale of four stars, this is a five star movie. It is mature, thoughtful and thought-provoking.
This is a story of regular people (regular, middle class white people, that is) who experience a personal tragedy. How do they each handle the tragedy? What do they become in its wake?
This is the role of a lifetime for Mark Ruffalo, and he shows us what dramatic acting is at its finest. The rest of the cast is superb, too- from the other leads to the bit players. Even the kid actors are incredibly good here. Joaquin Phoenix also gives a performance of a lifetime, Jennifer Connelly is superb, Elle Fanning is haunting. Every actor, down to the minor parts, does a fantastic job which lets you know the director made this possible. So GREAT directing!
This movie also has a perfect script. It is a classic literary work, with all the right elements of cohesive story with bigger thoughts and themes, multidimensional characters with moral shading and growth, emotional fullness. The story and characters are deep, rich, fully realized. This must have been written by an English major or serious playwright, since it has all the elements of good dramatic writing.
The direction is also perfect and unobtrusive. This movie is directed so flawlessly that the viewer never notices a shot; it is so perfect that there is only this on-screen reality, no presence whatever of a camera or even of a movie. This directing was there to give the actors what they needed to fully realize their characters.
The editing is utterly astoundingly perfect. Again, this matches the simplicity and unobtrusiveness of the directing. The cinematography is simple and perfect, appears to be shot on high quality video. The music is also perfectly placed and matched to this film. This movie is so good that I imagine they had incredible gaffers and drivers and caterers.
We, the viewers, were thoroughly engrossed in the places and the people. The audience in the movie theater was silent, absolutely silent, from the start to finish of this movie. This is a story we will think about for days and weeks to come.
The only slight bad thing about this movie is the title. I had no idea what it was supposed to be about when I was going to see it. From the word "reservation," I thought maybe it was about an Indian reservation. The promo photos make it look like some sort of adventure flick. I think the name and the ads might keep people from seeing it, and for sure will confuse them about what it is.
I guess theis movie will be depending on word of mouth, so I am happy to say here Go see it.
