Charles Schanie

Brilliant scripting, acting, directing and cinematography. The movie cleverly and artfully portrays multiple American cultural themes on gender relations, work-home-boss stresses and cultism using a mid-century retrospective motif. The pace is brisk--there are virtually no flat moments. The tension and action continuously engage. The two hour run time flies by. Some of the critics have characterized the film as a mash-up and rehash of old movies, most notably The Stepford wives. Nonsense. Though it does feel like a meth-driven amalgam of Mad Men, early 60's Life magazine, Ozzie and Harriet and, yes, The Stepford Wives, this is a complex and thoughtful analytical deconstruction of Americana writ large and bold wrapped around gripping themes and action.