A Zibaee

The Plot: Poorly written, it tries and fails to deal with nuanced subject matters such as SA, the treatment of women, female empowerment and misogyny. The problem is that the writing lacks maturity and depth and is overtly blunt, thus trivialising the underlying themes. The 2 dimensional characters lack motive for the entirety of the movie. The symbolism misses the mark, and the hard line approach towards genders, only serves to alienate both genders within the audience. The "kill all men" narrative, alongside the "all women are victims" tag line only serve in killing the conversation around the subject matters, and the themes that the movie is trying to address. The cinematography centres around vivid color palates and strong lighting, which in my view dulls the required intensity for a psychological thriller. Most of the shooting is stock standard, with only limited display of variety or diversity in terms of angle, lighting and framing. The pace is very slow and the expected surge in urgency never materialises. The performances are solid, but are greatly limited by the weakness of the plot. I wouldn't recommend it.

I haven't read the book... But to me, the movie dealt with the Cataclysmic events in the 50s, 60s and 70s that have resulted in today's America. The loss of innocence, the misguided youth, the anger the youth feel towards the previous generations, and dichotomy of how main stream America is trying to deal with the past... On the one hand the father can't let go of the idea of her daughter's innocence and the love he feels for her, and on the other, the mother needs/ wants to move on and recapture her past glory. The performances were to the point and engaging, with special mention going to Connolly. Dakota's depiction of Merry was a bit frustrating but I get the feeling that it was meant to frustrate the audience as the younger generation with their ever changing political views often do. I enjoyed it and got a lot out of it. Technically speaking the movie did not hold much and McGregor's inxperience was evident... But he told a good story.....6.5/10