Every childhood is normal to the child who lives it. For Meredith that means an enchanted seclusion that is shattered when she is deprived of her mother. Desperate and alone, Meredith must j... Read allEvery childhood is normal to the child who lives it. For Meredith that means an enchanted seclusion that is shattered when she is deprived of her mother. Desperate and alone, Meredith must join a household with other women and their children, a sinister man who controls every fac... Read allEvery childhood is normal to the child who lives it. For Meredith that means an enchanted seclusion that is shattered when she is deprived of her mother. Desperate and alone, Meredith must join a household with other women and their children, a sinister man who controls every facet of her existence, and a vicious bear that only she can see. As life in this world becom... Read all
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The direction, the camera work, editing, story, score, and acting all contribute seamlessly and equally to this awful delirium of a movie. It's a plodding, empty landscape of mediocrity trying to be artistic, which would have bombed even in the heyday of low-budget '60s experimental films.
This great delirium, moved along (if that's possible) by monotone and endless narration (presumably by the writer/screenwriter Kristy Nielsen) is invariably monotone and so poorly recorded as to be almost painful to make the effort to increase the volume and listen to the bland delivery of an uninspired story.
Then of course the score gets louder as well. It's a segment of a mediocre suspense score dragged out from end to end. Numbingly monotonous.
The direction? Well, Jeff Wedding directed, edited, helped write, and did a bang-up job of botching each assignment. Why, for instance are we looking up the nose of "The Man" each time he graces the protagonist, Meredith, with another drab line of dialog? He's not more scary with the annoying close-ups. In fact he had a face that could have been used for a more ambiguous and subtle character, lost by the closeness (which could be a statement of his domineering and controlling - albeit empty - persona. But we GET it already.)
Forget all that, though, there is no chance for ambiguity in these characters. The only thing that will keep young men watching is the sporadic nudity. The only thing that will keep young women watching is the aura of 'women's issues' that offers nothing new or interesting on any level. Older movie vets will wisely cut their losses and leave, unlike me.
A sophomoric attempt at a film and story-telling, at best.
- zincorbie
- Aug 8, 2014
