What it is...and what it isn't; Random Thoughts

I remember when the first trailer dropped, and I said 'I'm definitely going to see that!'

And I did. See it. This morning. And it ain't what I'd expected, wasn't what I'd hoped for.

The ticket-taker and I had gotten into a conversation about films in 2016, what we'd liked, what we hadn't. He'd seen 'Rogue One' last night when it opened and was still glowing about it. I told him that I'd give him a heads-up about this flick when I came out.

I sat there at the end, when the credits were rolling, trying to figure out what I was going to say to him.

"This is going to be a tough sell."

"This won't find its audience."

"This is NOT a 'feel-good' movie.'

"This is a foreign-language film, not an American ensemble movie. If it had been made in France with non-stars, the end result would probably have been better than what I just saw."

"This ain't a 'Christmas film'."

"That wasn't a 'story', that was a 'situation'." To my mind, whereas Hollywood movies are almost always plot-driven, 'Indie' films are almost always 'situations' that contain character studies. The problem with 'Collateral Damage- I mean 'Beauty' is that while its premise is a situation...and an admittedly interesting one...it does not contain any fully-developed character studies.

I had to count my lucky stars that when I finally exited the complex, he was nowhere to be seen.

Some movies require some 'suspension of disbelief'. This one required indulging a massive case of 'writer's conceit'. Which would have been OK, doable, if everything else in the film had been up to snuff; we can overlook a lot when we're chewing away happily on a meal. But there are two elements in the film...'Love, Death and Time', and The Great Reveal About Will Smith's Daughter...that -for me- made it impossible to- Well, drink the Kool-Aid. And damn, given the trailer, I wanted to get drunk on the Kool-Aid!

As a writer, I'm aware of the importance of the various archetypal elements that make up a (traditional) good story. A strong protagonist. (Which this didn't have.) A strong antagonist. (Which this didn't have.) A clear struggle, a goal, sacrifice...which this definitely didn't have.

There are some lovely bits in it. But in listening to these bits, I got to thinking 'Hey... This isn't so much a movie as it is a play. A theatrical production.'

These days, because filmmakers can show an audience just about anything this side of Heaven, STORY is what great films are built on. And this one just didn't have a solid story.

I don't know what the genesis was of this getting to the screen, but someone green-lit it. Someone, for some reason, right through production, thought that this ship could float. They were wrong.

If anyone knows the story behind the film, feel free to shine some light.

6/10