I'm not sure whether I actually like this movie or not. It has some nice visuals, and tries to do something interesting, but doesn't quite pull it off.
Oliver's pretension and self-absorption are a totally accurate portrayal of an aspect of teenageness that doesn't get too much play in the media. The movie is also an interesting exploration of the pitfalls of the ironic unattachment and performative artifice associated with Hipster culture. Jordana and Oliver's relationship, built on postmodern edginess and deliberate dispassion, is destined to fail, because real emotions start creeping in. And Oliver's stern persona hides his utter lack of emotional intelligence. This also comes off as a nice Take That! to other indie movies that rely excessively on quirkiness to the detriment of realism and emotion.
The problem is that upon setting up this tension, the movie fails to deliver the emotional heart to pay it off. The lack of any sympathetic characters certainly contributes. Another contributor is the movie's tone, which tries (I think) to derive humor from awkwardness and the character's sociopathy. Most of the time, the jokes don't land, leaving me unsure whether I'm supposed to be laughing at the characters or sympathizing with them. In particular, Oliver's extended post-breakup moping scene might be supposed to funny, but it also seems like it's trying to make the viewer sympathize with him, which is hard since he's clearly in the wrong.
In general I found the subplot with the parental infidelity to be less satisfying than the Jordana arc. There's something creepy about Oliver's relationship with his parents that is never properly discussed in-universe, and the whole arc mainly makes Oliver look immature without him learning anything from it. Perhaps that's point, but it didn't quite land for me. I did enjoy the scenes of Oliver bonding with with his father over being depressed though.
The cinematography is great though, and I liked all the water symbolism despite it being a bit heavy-handed.
Despite not especially liking this film, I find myself thinking about it a lot, which I guess is a success.
Shrug*
I'm not sure whether I actually like this movie or not. It has some nice visuals, and tries to do something interesting, but doesn't quite pull it off.
Oliver's pretension and self-absorption are a totally accurate portrayal of an aspect of teenageness that doesn't get too much play in the media. The movie is also an interesting exploration of the pitfalls of the ironic unattachment and performative artifice associated with Hipster culture. Jordana and Oliver's relationship, built on postmodern edginess and deliberate dispassion, is destined to fail, because real emotions start creeping in. And Oliver's stern persona hides his utter lack of emotional intelligence. This also comes off as a nice Take That! to other indie movies that rely excessively on quirkiness to the detriment of realism and emotion.
The problem is that upon setting up this tension, the movie fails to deliver the emotional heart to pay it off. The lack of any sympathetic characters certainly contributes. Another contributor is the movie's tone, which tries (I think) to derive humor from awkwardness and the character's sociopathy. Most of the time, the jokes don't land, leaving me unsure whether I'm supposed to be laughing at the characters or sympathizing with them. In particular, Oliver's extended post-breakup moping scene might be supposed to funny, but it also seems like it's trying to make the viewer sympathize with him, which is hard since he's clearly in the wrong.
In general I found the subplot with the parental infidelity to be less satisfying than the Jordana arc. There's something creepy about Oliver's relationship with his parents that is never properly discussed in-universe, and the whole arc mainly makes Oliver look immature without him learning anything from it. Perhaps that's point, but it didn't quite land for me. I did enjoy the scenes of Oliver bonding with with his father over being depressed though.
The cinematography is great though, and I liked all the water symbolism despite it being a bit heavy-handed.
Despite not especially liking this film, I find myself thinking about it a lot, which I guess is a success.