This movie is not a "masterpiece" by any means. And all the apparent hype it's getting? Why? Is it because this is a foreign film trying to be an "American film"? (That is, trying to be an American "genre" film?)
THE GOOD:
THE BAD:
I could suspend my disbelief over one bad decision, even two. But every single one? It's just not believable, because the criminals are good at pulling off their cons and getting all employed by the wealthy family. But once they're all in and making buck... then they all become stupid? Doesn't work.
The bad decisions start when the wealthy family goes camping, and the criminals decide to hang out, get drunk and make a mess in the wealthy family's living room. Even one of them foreshadows the wealthy family coming home unexpectedly by mentioning it as a "what if." Next bad decision is they let in the former housekeeper who shows up unexpectedly. Really??
Then the next bad decision is how they handle the housekeeper and her husband. Once the criminals are being held hostage by the threat of disclosure, why wouldn't even just one of them think of trying to negotiate something? Oh, sure, one of them eventually does, but like 30 minutes later when it's too late.
The film feels too slow until we get to the twist in the story. Twist should really have happened within maybe first 30 minutes. Not halfway through the movie. And then, when it does happen, we're down the road of the criminal family making multiple bad decisions.
Minor point, but the housekeeper's husband who's been living under the house for something like 4 years, looked too healthy. Someone living in cave-like conditions for 4 years with no sun, is not going to look healthy.
All in all, not the worst film I've ever seen, but NOT deserving of the high praise and ratings it's getting here. And not deserving of the Academy Award for Best Picture. Sorry.
THE GOOD:
- The actors are good.
- Some good cinematography. Definitely some cool scenes, like the flooding late in the film.
- The twist near the middle of the film is a good twist. However, it's like 50 minutes in, and it's too late. The film is semi-boring up to that point.
THE BAD:
- We've all seen those less-than-stellar films, where the criminals make one stupid horrible decision after another. Not the comedies where it's supposed to be funny or dumb, but the serious films. And you sit there thinking, "Man, these criminals are effing morons, it's just NOT believable. You've seen those, right? Well, this is one of those.
I could suspend my disbelief over one bad decision, even two. But every single one? It's just not believable, because the criminals are good at pulling off their cons and getting all employed by the wealthy family. But once they're all in and making buck... then they all become stupid? Doesn't work.
The bad decisions start when the wealthy family goes camping, and the criminals decide to hang out, get drunk and make a mess in the wealthy family's living room. Even one of them foreshadows the wealthy family coming home unexpectedly by mentioning it as a "what if." Next bad decision is they let in the former housekeeper who shows up unexpectedly. Really??
Then the next bad decision is how they handle the housekeeper and her husband. Once the criminals are being held hostage by the threat of disclosure, why wouldn't even just one of them think of trying to negotiate something? Oh, sure, one of them eventually does, but like 30 minutes later when it's too late.
The film feels too slow until we get to the twist in the story. Twist should really have happened within maybe first 30 minutes. Not halfway through the movie. And then, when it does happen, we're down the road of the criminal family making multiple bad decisions.
Minor point, but the housekeeper's husband who's been living under the house for something like 4 years, looked too healthy. Someone living in cave-like conditions for 4 years with no sun, is not going to look healthy.
All in all, not the worst film I've ever seen, but NOT deserving of the high praise and ratings it's getting here. And not deserving of the Academy Award for Best Picture. Sorry.