“how could someone so loved have been so cruel?”
i would die to hear haley lu richardson tell me “okay.” in that soft powerful way only she can.
i am INCREDIBLY high on this movie and i think it’s because it checks a lot of the boxes of what i really love in arthouse, meditative analyses of familial trauma and grief in general. these stories can be seen as meandering and boring, but i think the beauty in films like this is that they don’t need much of a plot or forward progression in order to tell the stories they’re trying to tell. in some sense, this is a perfect study of grief and trying to come to terms with a fractured parent relationship. i can draw so many parallels to the relationship between erin and her father because i watched both of my parents go through similar grieving processes when my grandmothers died. the sense of finality, no more last chances to fix what was broken, no more left to be said. as ace puts it during the dinner scene, “your father is a man whose past is complete now. nothing more will be added to his story. he is a sum of his days.” it’s just an incredibly sombering thought that really puts into perspective how suddenly something can end. i’ve been a fan of haley lu richardson ever since i saw columbus last year, and here again she proves how in every project she’s in she feels like the biggest star on the screen. her performances always feel so real and lived in, and it never feels as if she’s acting. we’re just watching her go about her day to day life and we’re lucky enough to watch her. there’s a scene near the end where she finally gives in to the bevy of emotions she’s been feeling and it leads to a heart wrenching conversation, but it’s delivered so beautifully that i was enthralled. to his credit, owen teague also matches the quiet anguish and energy presented from richardson, and he gives us a really good performance here. he shoulders the load as calvin through the majority of the movie, and i loved all his monologues and the conversations he carries. i absolutely think this would work better as a play, because the script and the natural settings just lend themselves to it naturally. the scenery is also gorgeous, and i think the soundtrack and the way in which it was interwoven into the story was also incredible. erin listens to the radio and it slowly melts into the background as we watch her drive around mukki’s farm. cal plays a mandolin and that too naturally transitions into this very mellow instrumental that accentuates the simplicity of the scene we’re watching. i understand some people won’t like this movie, but to me it was gorgeous.
“how could someone so loved have been so cruel?”
i would die to hear haley lu richardson tell me “okay.” in that soft powerful way only she can.
i am INCREDIBLY high on this movie and i think it’s because it checks a lot of the boxes of what i really love in arthouse, meditative analyses of familial trauma and grief in general. these stories can be seen as meandering and boring, but i think the beauty in films like this is that they don’t need much of a plot or forward progression in order to tell the stories they’re trying to tell. in some sense, this is a perfect study of grief and trying to come to terms with a fractured parent relationship. i can draw so many parallels to the relationship between erin and her father because i watched both of my parents go through similar grieving processes when my grandmothers died. the sense of finality, no more last chances to fix what was broken, no more left to be said. as ace puts it during the dinner scene, “your father is a man whose past is complete now. nothing more will be added to his story. he is a sum of his days.” it’s just an incredibly sombering thought that really puts into perspective how suddenly something can end. i’ve been a fan of haley lu richardson ever since i saw columbus last year, and here again she proves how in every project she’s in she feels like the biggest star on the screen. her performances always feel so real and lived in, and it never feels as if she’s acting. we’re just watching her go about her day to day life and we’re lucky enough to watch her. there’s a scene near the end where she finally gives in to the bevy of emotions she’s been feeling and it leads to a heart wrenching conversation, but it’s delivered so beautifully that i was enthralled. to his credit, owen teague also matches the quiet anguish and energy presented from richardson, and he gives us a really good performance here. he shoulders the load as calvin through the majority of the movie, and i loved all his monologues and the conversations he carries. i absolutely think this would work better as a play, because the script and the natural settings just lend themselves to it naturally. the scenery is also gorgeous, and i think the soundtrack and the way in which it was interwoven into the story was also incredible. erin listens to the radio and it slowly melts into the background as we watch her drive around mukki’s farm. cal plays a mandolin and that too naturally transitions into this very mellow instrumental that accentuates the simplicity of the scene we’re watching. i understand some people won’t like this movie, but to me it was gorgeous.
