All in Reviews
Like the title of the film, their filmmaking style manages to feel like everything, everywhere, all at once. Funny and serious, poignant and irreverent, joyous and melancholic. If the rest of Hollywood would take swings half as bold as these guys, we’d have a much more intriguing movie landscape.
The problem is that it never seems like they are very interested in telling a self-contained story. So much is shoehorned in in an effort to set up future entries and additional showdowns. As a result, it ends up being a solid 45 minutes longer than needed and like a watered-down soda, an overall terrible experience.
A peek at the reality of living with a severe mental illness. What does that mean for the people who love you? What sorts of consequences can that have on your path through life? What sorts of choices do you have in the face of something so all-consuming? These are the questions at the heart of Words on Bathroom Walls, a sweet and earnest look at the implications of a very real burden for many people.
For all of its manic hilarity, the film is actually a fairly nuanced take on the ways in which Black women’s choices are constrained by their daily circumstances. But it definitely has a point of view about how Black women should approach those choices and it is not clear Simien has a right to comment.
She was expected to marry crisp visuals with a pure vision and leave audiences rapt at her artistry. For some, Black Is King might do that, and over time, in may grow in estimation. But for now, it is hard not to be critical of the final product, even if you have to applaud effort. If nothing else, she got everyone talking.
What does your perfect day entail? Would you want it to be a special day or a more mundane one? Would you do the same thing every day or switch it up? Is there someone you would want to go through those repetitive days with? These are the questions the film tries to grapple with and once it finds its footing, it reaches some surprisingly deep conclusions.
The camera moves as if riding on the back of a ghost, creating perfect shot after perfect shot. It moves seamlessly from mounted on a vehicle to hand-held, all while maintaining Roger Deakins’ flawless vision. With no obvious cuts or editing artifice, you are left feeling as if you are actually there.
