Name of the FIlm: Monsters
Date seen: 31st December
Format: On a plane
Monsters is awesome. Review done. Can I go home now...
Well almost, it does deserve something more than a three word review. This film is awesome on many levels but, I fear that it wont get the mass recognition that it deserves for a few reasons, but more on that later.
So what happens when you have a guy that wants to make a film but doesn't have any money. A huge amount of invention is what.
Filmed on a tiny budget using real locations (often without permission) and making wide use of non actor extras this film represents a man squeezing ever dollar he can and throwing it on the screen. It shouldn't look as good as it does and it shouldn't be as good as it is.
With a title like Monsters (and a truly awful tag line 'Now it's our turn to adapt') I went into this film knowing nothing but expecting b-movie fair with cheap CGI. Boy was I wrong.
Instead this is a slow paced, intelligent drama set with a backdrop of aliens.
Monsters is about two people trying to get home to America through an 'infected zone' where the Mexican and American armies try desperately to stop the spread of alien creatures that is threatening to consume both countries.
That synopsis doesn't come close to doing the story justice.
Gareth Edwards (who wrote the script as well) directs Scoot McNairy as a journalist who is forced by his boss to take his daughter (Whitney Abe) across the infected zone and back home to America. Of course things don't go as planned and they have to deal with corrupt boarder officials, giant aliens and various other difficulties.
The strength of this movie is the Directors background. Before this he is more known for doing visual effects work and for directing a couple of documentaries and it is his almost documentarian approach that works so well in making the whole situation believable. The camera work is slow and thoughtful most of the time and the actors are given room to ad lib and therefore flesh out their characters.
Both of our main characters are very believable. If we look at when they are at the first border in mexico. They both get a little drunk and he makes a ham fisted pass at her. She refuses and so he gets a little more drunk on his own and winds up in bed with another (faceless) girl. The next morning when she calls at his room she is clearly a little hurt.
These little nuances add depth to both and allows us to believe in them. This is another of Monsters strengths. Even though the background is somewhat unbelievable (after all the aliens are pretty much 100ft squid) the characters and the interplay between them is refreshingly true and that is what makes the film so good.
We like the couple and we can relate to them and so when the tension mounts with the unseen monster calling in the night and then the inevitable attack on their party we care wether they survive or not.
It isn't just the people in the film that are well developed, even the aliens are given a tender moment in the (slightly) anti climax ending.
Speaking of which, when I first watched the film my reaction to the ending was "What, is that it?' But on repeat viewing it fits perfectly although as I say it is slightly anti climactic. And anyway everything about this film defies expectations so why should the ending be any different. This is a snap shot of two peoples lives that intersect and as such we are given an ending that works for the story that is being told.
So why do I think it wont necessarily get the attention it deserves?
Well budget is a concern and so it wont get the same push as, say, inception did. Also it is a slow burn for most of the time. It is a quiet film and at least some of my friends felt it was boring. This complaint I can see being repeated by a lot of the film going audience, but they have missed the point and I feel are the result of being force fed crap, flashy, no real content but amazing effects sci-fi for so long.
Now admittedly everyone loves a film that you can switch your brain off for two hours and just let it envelop you, but this isn't like that. This is a film that you have to listen to and invest in and if you do, you will be shown a story that will reward you on repeat viewing.
For endeavor alone it should be lauded but there are many better reasons as well. Using it's lack of budget as a strength rather than a weakness and, like all good monster films, letting its characters be the interesting part of the story. This is a glorious film that should be incredibly successful.
Did I enjoy the film? Yes
Would I recommend it to my friends? Yes but I would add some context to that.
Will I buy it on DVD/Blu Ray? Definately
If it was a mate would I let it date my Sister? Hmmm, as I said the pacing is a little slow, but it is clever enough to keep her interested. So yeah I would.
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