thien nguyen

Summary: Maybe it was the creators' intent for the viewers to extremely empathize with the protagonists. That is generally a good thing for most movies, but with Vivarium, I found myself lured in (by a decent trailer) only to become increasingly desperate for an escape as the movie progressed. Vivarium seems like it was created by a college student director with some potential but who decided that ultimately attending another house party was a better usage of their time. The first 15 minutes of the movie starts out well enough with adequate foreshadowing, quirkiness, and overall mystique, but the remaining hour and fifteen minutes inched by painfully. Time skips are used to force the plot forward and completely alienated the characters. While our two protagonist are placed in a precarious situation, their helplessness just seems so artificial. The creators mistakenly assumed that desperation was somehow a permanent state of mind and used this as the sole basis for the entire movie. Therefore, actions and rationales are completely nonsensical, and the movie becomes a complete debacle as the characters change and devolve for little reason. This drags on for over an hour without any real tension or intrigue. The film's thematic elements might please self-professed "enlightened" minds, as there are plenty of critiques on contemporary suburban and family structures, among other things; the first 15 second reel of the cuckoo bird practically gives away the whole plot. While social references can supplement a film, they no way replace true substance. The film's last 15 minute almost gave me hope that it could turn things around. Like the main character, the audience finally gets a sneak peek at something of substance. Perhaps Vivarium could finally inject some originality into its lackluster and predictable design by allowing its characters to do something other than just mope. Maybe, just maybe, the film could be more than uninteresting, dragged-out social commentary. But of course, I was ultimately denied, as it decided to take no real risks and accept that D+ as a grade.