Though A24 obviously use a wide range of case and crew but their films often have quite similar lighting and presence. This was the same again plus a little some some. There's a lot of natural lighting with soft edges. Even with the darkness the shadows are natural and soft, they're not afraid to show you things but doesn't shy away from have one sole focus in a somewhat blank canvas. As you can guess from the marketing 'this generations exorcist' there's some sort of spirit in this movie. Out of body it's portrayal is with moving light, subtle and only just out of the ordinary. There's a great shot with Alexx Wolff's character when he's alone in bed looking outside and we can see the heaters from the tree house reflected in his eyes. The glowing red reflecting from his dark eyes in his dark room may be a little on the house but looked great. There were some great silhouettes in the dark, wonderfully framed to heighten the horror element. They were bold and uncomfortable but almost out of focus, alarming but somehow not sudden.
The sound was fantastic, the daughter has a trademark sound, a clicking of her tongue, a 'cock' noise. Which as the film goes on it becomes more ominous. I'm a big fan of the slow quiet build ups for the score. Some horrors have got this down and Hereditary is one of them. You don't need a Jaws (1975) theme to alert you to the next attack. You want something that grows with your anxiety, something that finds its way with you instead of leading you there. The editing was also great. There were a few cuts that moved between identical shots in different locations and unique moments that utilises every angle. The mixture between abrupt cut and lingering on an image was perfect. Cuts were alarming but never whisked away before you had a complete look. But at 2hr7mins you there's time to see everything.
Now the cast, here we go. Amazing. Fascinating to watch. Milly Shapiro plays Charlie the daughter and she's good, she's interesting to watch and I'm curious to see what her next move will be. Gabriel Byrne is great as Steve, almost separates Steve the dad and Steve the husband and it works well, it's exactly what the story needs. Toni Collette is wonderful as always playing the mum, Annie. She gives away nothing as well as a lot. She's vulnerable but determined. The main point is we believe her. We believe she had a strained relationship with her mother though we never see it. As you would have seen from the trailer Annie creates miniature art pieces based on her home life. We see crude near accurate images of memories and moments she's trying to see from another angle. She uses it to grieve and in anger. It's her outlet and it's isolated from the rest of the family, hell from the outside of that one room. Some pieces she had even turned away to face the other direction. Even if we didn't believe she existed before the film we're given a little visual key anyway.
Now Alex Wolff. I could talk about him for a good while and not just because I think he's cute (cos man do I). If you haven't yet seen My Friend Dahmer (2017) go watch it and check out our review here. I thought Wolff was good in that but he excels in hereditary. He's genuine. His stages of grief are genuine and real. They're deep and dark. When someone experiences something as horrific as he has there's no comparable feeling. He has a weighted numbness that, again, is believable. His commitment to the role is commendable and clear. His reactions are fantastic and he holds his own against Oscar nommed Toni Collette. AND AGAIN is someone to look out for.
It's a slow burner but a well written script. Takes a little while to digest and rightly so. Even spoiler free there's so much to be said about this film I feel I've missed so many points to analyse. It's a very well written script that ties so much together. I almost hope I missed something so I've got another stone to unturn. 8/10
CINEMATES - A
No comments:
Post a Comment