All in Film Reviews
As a white woman my opinion is valid, and yet flawed. I do not possess the insight, or the experience, to understand what black Americans have lived through, and what makes up their current fight. Every American should watch this film and feel at least partially outraged by the violence, the injustice, and the racial disparity presented onscreen.
The story is one that has been told before, but it has never felt so tense. Teller portrays a single minded musician who wants to “die drunk, broke at 34 and have people at a dinner table talk about him than live to be rich and sober at 90 and nobody remembered who he was.”
There just aren’t enough films dealing with the LGBT community. While many marginalized and underrepresented peoples are still struggling to be seen compared to LGBT characters, that doesn’t mean that we always get complex, three dimensional LGBT characters.
The story strays constantly from that of an older man accused of a crime he can’t remember, and into gentle humor and human interest. There are side characters and flashbacks, unneeded expository dialogue, and scenes that have no bearing on the rest of the plot.
Just as stirring is Emma Stone as Riggan’s daughter, Sam. Struggling with her own issues, which stem from her father, she faces drug addiction and the uncertainty of being a twenty something without direction.
In a film like this, the first thing everyone looks at is the execution, and how it matches the level of acting from its leads. Ethan Hawke is an amazing actor, and his best assets are always highlighted in Linklater productions.
Even with the interesting content of the film, the pacing is awful. The film drags along slowly, and very little happens throughout. Felicity Jones carries the entire middle section of the film as she lusts after a family friend (Charlie Cox), but much of what they feel for each other is only hinted at.
Thankfully Gillian Flynn adapted the screenplay from her book, (and was not nominated, sadly enough) and only made minimal changes from her source material.
