41/22
“It’s What’s Inside” #39; settled really well
Plot
A group of friends gather for a pre-wedding party that descends into an existential nightmare when an estranged friend arrives with a mysterious game that stirs up long-hidden secrets, desires, and resentments. Throughout the film, background music that is variations on the second movement of Beethoven’s 7th symphony. Referenced in Amanda the Jedi Show: NIGHT SWIM is Garbage | Explained (2024). Coppelia: Act I: ValseWriter by Léo Delibes Performed by Symfonický Orchestra Slovenského rozhlasu (as Slovak Radio Orchestra) and Andrew Mogrelia arranged by Naxos of America with HD Music Now Inc.
First, it got very messy
We meet some of the characters and learn that they have drama going on behind the scenes. Then we get to know the interesting mechanism that drives the rest of the film. At this point I thought I had something really special. I hadn’t realized that there were issues with the movie that make it difficult.
The other problems are with the characters
I don’t want to go into details because it would spoil the premise of the movie. But anyone who watches this movie will know pretty quickly what I’m talking about when it comes to confusion. I will say that while the middle of the film is very confusing, it clears up and becomes a bit more coherent towards the end. You still have to keep your wits about you at all times, that’s for sure.
All the negatives aside, there’s some really good stuff here
There are two of them and they are very toxic people who are hard to care about and hard to deal with. I really feel like the movie could have easily cut 2-3 characters and nothing would have been lost. And as for the toxicity, I get that it makes for juicier drama, but sacrificing likability is a big deal. If you can stay on top of the story and follow all the story/character arcs, you’ll probably have a really good time, as it has some nice tricks up its sleeve at the end.
See more in our October calendar!
It was an ambitious undertaking to make a movie out of this complex work, and overall they did a pretty good job. 6/10.. The final season of "What We Do in the Shadows" is one of the biggest TV and streaming premieres this month.