thought this was pretty bad. it's a 'movie' loosely draped over a gimmick (there's a contagion in which people suddenly become 100% sure they'll die tomorrow) in the same way as something like
it follows (complete with nobody talking or acting like a real person even pre-affliction), except that gimmick was really cool and unnerving visually and this one's just people moping around monotonally and occasionally seeing flashing colours.
it is quite funny at times and definitely works best when it's leaning in that direction, i.e. the bickering couple who immediately realise in the face of mortality that they should've broken up ages ago ("
you didn't even turn up to my birthday"/"
my dad had a stroke"/"
if you were really into me you could've at least texted") or the way big emotional crescendos keep getting undermined by sudden cuts, but whenever it wants to be taken seriously it's basically
melancholia if it were made by a philosophy undergrad (complete with a camus quote). there's so little here i can only really see it working as a short and even that'd be pushing it.
kind of disappointing given there's such a who's who of big indie names involved: amy seimetz from
upstream color and
the girlfriend experience directs, kate lyn sheil from
every mumblecore movie stars (she's so hyped and i don't really get it), adam wingard (director of
the guest,
godzilla vs. kong and
you're next) and kentucker audley (
58% of mumblecore movies) cameo among various others. the only one to really leave an impression is legendary experimental filmmaker james benning, and on that subject here's a funny quote from seimetz:
"He came up to me, did not introduce himself and launched into this story about one time he hit a cow with his truck. He sat by the cow’s side as the cow died and stared into its eye and watched the life drain out of it. And he felt really bad and felt they had this connection. It was a really intense story. Then he just walked away. And I was like, “Who the fuck is that?” And they’re like, “Oh, that’s James Benning. That’s his way of telling you good job."
