Pascal Laugier is a very talented director. Martyrs is a masterpiece and one of my favorite movies of all time. And while Ghostland does have its flaws, it also has some aspects about it that I love. The Tall Man is similar in that regard. There are a few things I have found to be very consistently great with Laugier, and he continues to deliver on those points: This movie is very well shot, creates a chilling environment, uses multiple twists, and creates high tension (which I think is his best skill).
So all the way up until the last 20 minutes or so, I was really struggling to find out why this movie had such negative reviews. But then I finished it, and unfortunately I totally get it.
That being said, I don’t think that Jessica Biel’s character is portrayed in a positive light. We hear at the end when Jenny says “Right? Right? Right?” that she doesn’t know if this is the right life for her, if this is where she belongs. She too questions the morality of Denning, and the “societal assumption” that her life is improved. She remarks that she loved “all three of her mothers” but all for different reasons, as they all showed love to her in different ways. Denning is wrong, all that is being asked of the viewer is to understand her motivations. It just doesn’t land smoothly.
Though I don’t think it was intentional to come off the way it did, it does leave a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. This is a topic that didn’t need to be addressed in the first place, let alone questioned.
Pascal Laugier is a very talented director. Martyrs is a masterpiece and one of my favorite movies of all time. And while Ghostland does have its flaws, it also has some aspects about it that I love. The Tall Man is similar in that regard. There are a few things I have found to be very consistently great with Laugier, and he continues to deliver on those points: This movie is very well shot, creates a chilling environment, uses multiple twists, and creates high tension (which I think is his best skill).
So all the way up until the last 20 minutes or so, I was really struggling to find out why this movie had such negative reviews. But then I finished it, and unfortunately I totally get it.
That being said, I don’t think that Jessica Biel’s character is portrayed in a positive light. We hear at the end when Jenny says “Right? Right? Right?” that she doesn’t know if this is the right life for her, if this is where she belongs. She too questions the morality of Denning, and the “societal assumption” that her life is improved. She remarks that she loved “all three of her mothers” but all for different reasons, as they all showed love to her in different ways. Denning is wrong, all that is being asked of the viewer is to understand her motivations. It just doesn’t land smoothly.
Though I don’t think it was intentional to come off the way it did, it does leave a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. This is a topic that didn’t need to be addressed in the first place, let alone questioned.
