I really wanted to rate “Under the Silver Lake” a higher rating, in fact there is a lot to love about the film. It is technically marvelous, aesthetically rich, beautifully shot, and Andrew Garfield once again delivers a raw and layered performance of a likable anti-hero loser. The problem with the film is how meandering and tedious it gets, by the time you get to the big reveals of the enigmatic puzzle going on, it doesn’t feel all too revealing or even exciting. In fact if runs its coarse well into the 90 mins mark. In fact the films ideas just feel like rehashes from old Alex Jones or David Ike videos you would see from 12 years ago, you know the crazy conspiracy theory guys who have informed us years ago that Hollywood and the media are controlled by an outside establishment who’s main goal is to control the human population how to consume and think with symbolical messages and codes.
The films first half is much more successful and indeed very engrossing, then it takes too many detours into poor visual gags, desperate humor, and poorly comedic caricatures. The way women are depicted in the film is a little questionable too, the way the women are sexualized to an extreme is almost a self-parody of the “male gaze”, perhaps that is the point of it all, but its one of those things like Michael Haneke’s “Funny Games” that wants to have its cake and eat it too. Where writer-director David Robert Mitchell (It Follows) wants to show Hollywood as a place that demeans women, as he does the exact same thing.
Despite a few of these faults you can’t deny just how fascinating and engrossing the film really is. The film is almost like a mix of a modern version of Raymond Chandler, think a modern version of Robert Altman’s “The Long Goodbye” meets P.T. Anderson’s “Inherit Vice”, with a touch of Richard Kelly’s “Southland Tales” and even Lynchian surrealism. The film is filled with dense ideas, convoluted loose ends on the mystery, and of course off-beat characters, however like “Inherit Vice” it leaves you frustrated , however the idiosyncratic characters don’t come off as fascinating or as compelling as they do in “Inherit Vice”. Overall this is a film that is highly watchable and enjoyable, and I might come around to it more on a repeat viewing.
This is Robert Mitchell’s follow-up to his well-crafted but uneven 2014 horror film “It Follows”, which was both a critical and commercial success. The film is bolder, holds more scope, and feels grandeur in scale, but it also loses holds on self-control. However, Mitchell’s touch behind the camera is very confident, you can sense that he is a large disciple of David Lynch and P.T. Anderson. Mitchell certainly uses a lot of wide-beautifully composed wide shots of LA that create the mood of the city, and the score by Disasterpiece is very memorable.
The film is about an unemployed loser named Sam (Andrew Garfield) who lives a lot like the Dude in “The Big Lebowski”. He ends up getting obsessed with secret codes hidden in pop culture, and he ends up taking an interest to his neighbor Sarah (Riley Keough) in the swimming pool and becomes very drawn into her. Sam in many ways ends up becoming a self-made gumshoe like James Stewart’s character in Alfred Hitchcock’s “Rear Window” and even Brian De Palma’s “Body Double”. She ends up inviting him over, they smoke pot together, and flirt with each other until they are interrupted by Sarah’s roommates. When he returns the next day to visit her, she has completely vanished, with all of furniture and belongings completely gone.
Sam begins his own investigations that involves drifting through a surreal Los Angeles that takes him down a journey of dead billionaires, old cereal boxes that old clues, night parties, a Vampire rock band, a maestro who is the hidden creator of all hit billboard songs, and he encounters with many beautiful women that want to sleep with him, even after being sprayed by a skunk.
In many ways “Under the Silver Lakes” has artistic failure written all over it, it certainly bites off more than it can chew, and it holds no restraint what so over. Its a long movie with many characters, in which David Robert Mitchell refused to cut the film down any longer from its 139 mins running time for distributor A24, however you can’t deny how ambitious and engrossing the film really is.
Casting Garfield is a great idea, Andrew Garfield proves to be one of the greatest younger actors working today, yet he brings so much layers, raw emotions, and alienation to the character that you can’t help root for him. The film leaves off with a dissatisfying conclusion, but there is enough memorable and fascinating moments in the film making it an essential viewing. Film critic Pauline Kael once wrote that “Great movies are rarely perfect movies”, and this could apply to something like “Under the Silver Lake”, which is far from great, it has a lot of vulgar and silly bumps, some ridiculous twists that don’t necessarily always work, and the film has a long running time, and it doesn’t feel completely successful. Still, there is so much to admire and enjoy in this film from a young director who holds a unique visual and impressive visual style who believes that artistry, ambiguity, and tone can carry a film a long way.
I think it was worst movie ever i have seen, absolute abstract pieces of stories pasted together, nonsensical clues that made no sense in the end, absurd conspiracy theories, and worst urban legends that made me wonder what am i watching. Initially it really looked like its coming to something good, but just after 20 mins it fell flat on its face
i just love this movie .. one the best so far this year . and the songwriter scene was just awesome.
Spot on review but I didn’t mind the depiction of the women in the movie and I am a woman. I’d call it a cocktail mix of Mulholland Drive, Inherent Vice, Vertigo, The Long Goodbye, The Big Lebowski, and with a slight dash of Rear Window and Zodiac for good measure. It’s an incredibly dense, bizarre, absurd, at times maddening film, but it’s always fascinating and compelling. The cast is excellent, especially the great Andrew Garfield, who gives a very committed performance as the lead Sam. His character is definitely going to be a huge point of contention for audiences, as he’s quite different from the typical hero of a film like this. His complexity and layered backstory definitely added a lot to the story.
As expected from the previous work of director David Robert Mitchell, all the technical aspects are phenomenal. The cinematography is absolutely ravising, the score by Disasterpiece is a great ode to classic noir scores, the production design is endlessly creative and impressive, and the editing is incredibly effective at keeping a fun momentum throughout scenes.
Overall, this is a film that will warrant repeated viewings, lengthy discussions, and god knows how many analysis videos. It’s a very thought-provoking look into the idiosyncrasies of Hollywood culture, the unfortunate overabundance of the male gaze and the ways in which we get obsessed and paranoid over meaningless dead ends. I’d hugely recommend seeing it.
Another spot on review, I am very impartial to the movie. I admired the ambition and craft, however on a narrative and storytelling level it suffers greatly. There are way too many scenes that are cartoonish and go way over-the-top, it indeed reminded me of “Inherit Vice”, but a more fun version of it, though I do agree the characters aren’t as memorable.
This is a film that will be pierced in my mind for a while. While I would also rate the film 3 stars, I applaud the director’s attempt at portraying the impact loss and grief may have on one’s mind. There are so many jewels in this film but much of it also didn’t work for me. This film was funny, shocking, outrageously absurd, unimaginable and tedious. At times I wanted the movie to end while at other times, I got pulled right back into the story. Garfield’s performance is one for the books. Not an easy one to pull off in such a frenetic story such as this.
651072 630781I adore your wp web template, wherever would you obtain it by means of? 737287
896047 958381It is practically impossible to locate knowledgeable males and women during this subject, however you sound like do you know what youre discussing! Thanks 412609
310284 124013This sort of considering develop change in an individuals llife, building our Chicago Pounds reduction going on a diet model are a wide actions toward creating the fact goal in mind. lose weight 717598
841638 1388I like this website very a lot so much outstanding info. 879316
If you would like to take a great deal from this piece of writing then you have to apply these methods to your won web site.
Howdy! I know this is somewhat off-topic however I needed to ask.
Does building a well-established blog such as yours require a massive
amount work? I am completely new to operating a blog however I do write in my diary every day.
I’d like to start a blog so I can share my own experience and
thoughts online. Please let me know if you have any kind
of recommendations or tips for brand new aspiring bloggers.
Thankyou!
Hello, all the time i used to check blog posts here in the early hours in the morning, as i love to find out more and more.
I was pretty pleased to uncover this web site. I need to to thank you for ones time for this particularly fantastic read!! I definitely enjoyed every little bit of it and i also have you book marked to see new things in your blog.|
Hey there would you mind letting me know which webhost you’re working with? I’ve loaded your blog in 3 different internet browsers and I must say this blog loads a lot quicker then most. Can you recommend a good internet hosting provider at a fair price? Thanks, I appreciate it!|
Thanks for the time for posting it.
It is actually a great and useful piece of information. I’m glad that you shared
this useful info with us. Please stay us informed like this.
Thank you for sharing.