This was a tough one to call (SOME SPOILERISH STUFF)
-
Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — General Discussion
Kay_Rock — 12 years ago(October 03, 2013 10:35 AM)
Usually before seeing an indy film I'll come check out the boards here. There will always be a mix of good/bad reviews, but you can generally tell by the literacy of the writers which way the film will go.
Coming here before watching this, I was surprised that there seemed to be equal love/hate from both the illiterate inbred posters and those who can actually spell and complete a sentence.
I decided to watch it.
From the beginning I was impressed with the framing, lighting, and general cinematography. The quiet ghost did start out a bit corny but the atmosphere crept in and he became intriguing.
By the time the dark tempter entered and the entire center focus of the film shifted, I was very much hooked. There was a bit of heavy play on the biblical mythology of good vs. evil, but that's true of a lot of films like this so I just went with it. Everyone struggling to identify the spirits should take note of the fact that the man and the woman are never given names, either. They are all the basic characters of a classic morality tale. Of all the characters present, the one who best fills the role of protagonist is the silent ghost. It's really he who has the biggest choice to make. He is the one who has the quest to find redemption.
Side note: The woman's joy at both seeing him for the first time and in seeing him find redemption make me question the assumption most posters have made about the nature of the abuse she suffered, but it could be that they chose to gloss that over in favor of focusing on the ghost's story.
The worst acting was definitely in the hands of the dark spirit. A better choice in casting there would have improved the film immensely. But the premise was solid, the pacing slow but steady, and the over-all atmosphere was well designed. While no "ghost" story can be considered truly unique these days, I do think they did a solid job with this particular motif.
In re-reading some of the criticism, I think people were over-thinking and looking for "twists" or "deep secrets" or any of the other plot devices we've been trained to see. Their inability to find them seems to be driving their dislike of the movie; they assume the director/writer failed to properly introduce them. Instead, this is a different type of movie with a different modality. It doesn't need to be figured out, it simply needs to be experienced.
Those who appreciate film as art (and don't need boobs, car crashes or slashed up body parts to make a movie fun) will likely enjoy this film despite it's few flaws.
Movies are IQ tests. The IMDB boards are each person's opportunity to broadcast their score. -
altterrain — 12 years ago(January 12, 2014 05:25 PM)
Quoting the Church Lady, "Well, isn't that special." Feeling the need to call out "the illiterate inbred posters" just comes off as elitist crap. Now that's said, I did enjoy the cinematography and the beginning of the movie with the quiet presence. I was not sure where the movie was going. Unfortunately, it went to a dark place that required an actress with much stronger dramatic acting chops than Ms. Sorvino. I enjoy her much more as a comic actress and could not buy her as a victim of childhood sexual abuse. I own personal experience as a victim and knowing many other victims of sexual violence may color my perception. Justin Kirk as the boyfriend fixer was believable enough (been there, done that too many times) though I thought is character was a bit weak. The character I enjoyed the most was the dark presence. I thought the use of subtle suggestion preying on our own weaknesses, sending us into our darkest states was a great device.
As for the rest, personally, I would have enjoyed the movie a bit more with some boobage.
I know what the fox says -
trixietrx — 11 years ago(May 01, 2014 11:08 PM)
Well, I like what I like, and I was just meh on this one. Actually I was fine with it til the evil guy came and he just seemed too cheesy. Plus I don't think Mira had what it took to carry this movie.
Scenery was gorgeous, and I preferred more of the subtle details, although the angel stuff was, IMO pretty awesome, while not subtle per se, his actions were.