In the hands of a craftsman (eg Bergman) this could have been a deeply moving tale about the dysfunction within a seemingly comfortable middle class family. HOWEVER: is it laziness that causes film makers not to bother writing a script? It is awful having to watch actors unable to do their job properly as they squirm with embarrassment, realising too late that they have just uttered some banality that the alleged director will likely use? This causes inconsistencies, flights of fancy, dullness and, frankly, ridicule.
The static camera has its place in film making grammar. HOWEVER it appears that in this film the static shot is simply used in the absence of an ability to conjure anything else up. Should we even mention the shot on the staircase? Why not: used twice, it is locked off and held long enough for a character to walk down the stairs. WHY!? Is it thought that the audience is too thick to work out where in a building the characters are? Or is the staircase seen as an emblematic bridge between two states of mind: the upstairs and the downstairs?
The UK produces too many script-less films that the film establishment and critics seem unable to bring themselves to describe as what they are: work in progress. The emperor's new clothes had the same effect on his courtiers. Why are the British in awe of writer/directors who do not/cannot write? This trend is sadly crossing the pond and we are seeing this 'style' (arguably lack of style) replicated here in the US.
I am sure Joanna Hogg is highly talented, but on this showing, she has kept her talents deeply hidden.
The static camera has its place in film making grammar. HOWEVER it appears that in this film the static shot is simply used in the absence of an ability to conjure anything else up. Should we even mention the shot on the staircase? Why not: used twice, it is locked off and held long enough for a character to walk down the stairs. WHY!? Is it thought that the audience is too thick to work out where in a building the characters are? Or is the staircase seen as an emblematic bridge between two states of mind: the upstairs and the downstairs?
The UK produces too many script-less films that the film establishment and critics seem unable to bring themselves to describe as what they are: work in progress. The emperor's new clothes had the same effect on his courtiers. Why are the British in awe of writer/directors who do not/cannot write? This trend is sadly crossing the pond and we are seeing this 'style' (arguably lack of style) replicated here in the US.
I am sure Joanna Hogg is highly talented, but on this showing, she has kept her talents deeply hidden.