Most “What the F*ck” Films of the Year
These films left me scratching my head in both confusion and wonder.
The Congress
A film wherein Robin Wright agrees to have her body scanned in order for the movie company to use her likeness in films for years to come. In order to do this, she must agree to never act in another film again, or even perform on stage. The company owns her image. So yeah, that’s a crazy concept. What gets crazier is after all this is said and done the whole film goes animated and takes a trip down loony tunes lane. I have seriously zero idea what the whole 2nd half of the film meant. No idea. It was a strange experience in where I didn’t dislike what I was seeing, but wasn’t grasped by it due to complete bewilderment. It’s going to take a few more viewings, even I even do so, to take this all in.
Under the Skin
This film is kind of a masterpiece. There is literally nothing like it whatsoever. It’s dark, brooking, completely mysterious. It’s the exploration of what it means to be human by a being that is most certainly not. We don’t know what this thing, played by Scarlett Johansson is, but we’re intrigued to find out. This being prowls the streets of Scotland looking for prey in the form of horny dudes. She lures them like a venus flytrap. There is so much going on in this film that I had to watch it three times in 24 hours to get close to a conclusion and I still don’t really get it. The score is haunting. The performance by ScarJo is surprisingly good. The imagery is incredible. It’s not my film of the year, but it certainly is the film I’m most perplexed by.
Enemy
I love Denis Villeneuve. His film “Incendies” is one of my all time favorites. “Prisoner” was an incredible mystery/character study on the reaches of human anger and revenge. His most recent film however is a bit more puzzling. Boasting a tour de force performance by Jake Gyllenhaal in which he plays two different characters who look exactly the same, Enemy has probably the most confusing ending I’ve seen in a while. It’s an ending that is left totally up for discussion and argument. It’s also a jarring and sometimes strangely hypnotic. I haven’t rewatched this yet, but I feel like I should.