GENRE:
Drama
RATING:
PG-13 for brief language and thematic material
RUNTIME:
1 hour and 44 minutes
PLATFORM:
Movie Theatre
STARRING:
Tom Hanks (Forrest Gump; A Man Called
Otto; Big, Sully)
Robin Wright (House of Cards; Gump); Paul
Bettany (Da Vinci Code)
DIRECTOR:
Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump; Back to
the Future)
WRITERS:
Eric Roth (Gump; Dune: Part One; Ali; A
Star is Born)
Zemeckis
(Back to the Future; Polar Express; The
Walk; Pinocchio)
PLOT:
A generational story centered on a place where life happens.
FULL DISCLOSURE: The experimentation intrigued me.
STORY STUFF: While I liked the concept; the writers squandered so many opportunities in this film. Don’t get me wrong, there are a number of great scenes and clever through-lines but there is also a lot missing. The idea of illness that permeated all the generations was well placed. There is a moment where black parents are giving their child precise instructions on what to do if they are pulled over by a cop. This is done well but would have had more impact if we saw other families giving parental advice to their children also. We get snap shots and drive-by lines to tell the story where a longer scene could help me get more invested in the lives of the characters. There’s a lot more things that could happen in a living room. I also did not believe that no one in the house cared that The Beatles were on Ed Sullivan.
ACTING STUFF: The acting is fine. I was not impressed with any performance in particular. Again this may be because I wasn’t given enough time to fully appreciate each moment in this house.
ARTISTIC STUFF: I did enjoy the experiment. The camera is locked in place for the entire film; it did not bother me in the slightest. I liked the box-y editing of time switches. I was interested as a video editor. The set dressing was amazing with all the different times represented. I guess you could say the same for the costuming, although Hanks had bad style throughout. The music was a bit overdone at times although I did move my head to a couple of song choices.
VERDICT:
Three stars out of five
SEE IT IF:
You are interested in the experiment
UPCOMING REVIEW: Red One; Wicked
