Complete credited cast: | |||
Aubrey Plaza | ... | Allison | |
Christopher Abbott | ... | Gabe | |
Sarah Gadon | ... | Blair | |
Paola Lázaro | ... | Cahya | |
Grantham Coleman | ... | Baako | |
Lindsay Burdge | ... | Maude | |
Lou Gonzalez | ... | Chris | |
Shannon O'Neill | ... | Simone | |
Alexander Koch | ... | Mike (as Alex Koch) | |
Jennifer Kim | ... | Nora | |
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Kevin Barker | ... | John the Gaffer |
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Mary Borrello | ... | 1st AC |
Rob Turbovsky | ... | 2nd AC | |
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Haitao Zeng | ... | PA |
At a remote lake house in the Adirondack Mountains, a couple entertains an out-of-town guest looking for inspiration in her filmmaking. The group quickly falls into a calculated game of desire, manipulation, and jealousy, unaware of how dangerously convoluted their lives will soon become in the filmmaker's pursuit of a work of art, which blurs the boundaries between autobiography and invention. Written by kanaan-02150
An intricately layered, fiendishly plotted & anxiety-inducing thriller that's further bolstered by Aubrey Plaza's powerfully captivating performance, Black Bear is an emotionally charged & increasingly unnerving ride that's clever & confounding in equal measure and offers an interesting insight into the behind-the-scenes chaos of art creation.
Written & directed by Lawrence Michael Levine, the film only gets more n more intense & uncomfortable as it progresses, and sustains its uneasy aura from the first frame to the last. Levine's enigmatic treatment keeps the viewers guessing and although he doesn't provide any answer, he does manage to create just the right kind of intrigue for us to continue looking for it.
Assisting the psychologically scarring drama is the haunting sound design that never allows us to settle. And then there are fabulous performances that make this journey even more worthwhile. Christopher Abbott & Sarah Gadon deliver strong inputs while Aubrey Plaza steals the show with a phenomenal rendition that's impressive enough to qualify as arguably her career-best work.
Overall, Black Bear is a dark, delirious & disturbing delight that's as subversive as it is solipsistic and while far from an easy film to decipher in one sitting, it is able to keep our interest & involvement alive throughout its runtime. One of the most challenging & stimulating films of the year, this meta-thriller paints a fascinating portrait of art imitating life imitating art, and is worth viewing for Aubrey Plaza's commanding showcase alone.