Mickey 17

i’ve spent the past couple hours thinking of how tonally different bong joon ho’s english language films feel from his korean projects and what it says about the west - how self indulgent and self important we must seem! this film drives that message home using robert pattinson’s endless charm. every performance here is top notch but pattinson in particular fully transforms - mickey 17 and mickey 18 feel fully separate despite theoretically being the same person. mark ruffalo and toni colette are clearly having a ball playing caricatures of a government official and his wife. THE SAUCE! made me chuckle every time it was mentioned. this isn’t a movie that hides its critique on capitalism, nor is it one that prevents the audience from having fun. its best quality is the thing we all have to figure out how to do every day - survive the grind and enjoy the parts of life that make it worth living. after all, as mickey himself tells us, it’s ok to be happy.