Thursday, January 12, 2023

Two Critiques

More critiques!  If you want full reviews find them elsewhere.  Just some quick thoughts.

Emily the Criminal - **

Wonderful story about today's economics and the choices it forces on young people.  Emily dropped out of art school because of a violent incident in her past.  She can't find fulfilling work that also pays the bills.  When she gets an opportunity to use other skills she has - perhaps related to her shady past - she maybe finds a way to beat the system.  I like the way the young woman at the center of the story refuses to be a victim, and refuses to let the failures of others dictate her future.   A pretty small film made bigger by Aubrey Plaza's performance.

The Banshees of Inisherin - ***

On it's surface it's a story about a friendship gone sour.  But I think it's about how difficult it is to move on from a relationship when one person has changed, or just wants change, and the other hasn't. (Having recently been through that in a divorce I found that especially interesting.) I think the other aspect is the question of finding fulfillment in middle age. We get that story from all three of the leads (besides the two male friends, one of their sisters, Siobhan, is the only one who makes a really positive change!).  
Great soundtrack, beautiful and thematically interesting setting (it takes place in 1923, with the Irish Civil War raging just over the water - a fight between friends and family), personable acting and deft directing.  A must see.  

Four Stars - Masterpiece
Three Stars - Must See
Two Stars - Worth Seeing
One Star - Has Redeeming Facet
No Stars - No Redeeming Facets



No comments:

Post a Comment