I try not to divide films by category of appeal, like for "x-ethnic group", or "x-sexual orientation", etc., but sometimes it's hard to resist that impulse, just because it seems to fit so well into a stereotype. That's the case here. On IMDB they call it "mystery, drama, thriller", but it seems that the "thriller" and "mystery" aspect is really how you'd think of a "chick-flick thriller" or "chick-flick mystery". I must confess, that however hard I try to be broad-minded in my tastes, I'm just not the right audience for chick-flicks. Nothing wrong with such films, just a matter of taste.
The structure of the film was a strain on my patience. I recognize, especially in retrospect, how the filmmakers might have decided that this was the best way, but the lengthy VOs of the various characters at the start of the movie felt interminable - I felt like walking out. The basic problem was that the content and presentation of the VOs had no element of intrigue or interest (to me), it felt like being force-fed exposition about stuff that I just didn't care about. There was not "mystery" or "thrill" or even "drama" - the only feeling one had is "why are we being told all this boring-a$$ chit" and "I hope this is going somewhere SOON". But it wasn't "soon", it felt like a forever and a day.
**************SPOILER ALERT********************
The whole idea seems to turn simply on the "unreliable narrator" trope, which feels like a bit of a cheat or somewhat of a cheap gimmick. There really was very little tension derived from any sense of danger (and any such was very mild), and all down to the psychology of someone who develops a bad drinking problem that makes them vulnerable to the "gaslighting" by the bad guy. And then the whole thing turns into a tale of recognition and redeption and female solidarity - triggered most unbelievably by a single conversation on the train with her ex's former boss.
You could sum it up with "and guess what - everthing I said before and that was shown visually (so that it may fool the audience all the better) was all a false memory fed by my abusive ex, whom I used to worship until his former boss told me the score! Whew! Ta-da, happy ending and the guilty have been punished!"
That said, in searching for positives, I rather liked Emily Blunt here - I was very unimpressed with her acting in Sicario, which as I suspected was down to her being miscast in that movie - she was very convincing here, even if her accent was waxing and waning through the film.
Despite everything I didn't actively hate the movie, which is kind of a win. But I would not want to see it again.
The structure of the film was a strain on my patience. I recognize, especially in retrospect, how the filmmakers might have decided that this was the best way, but the lengthy VOs of the various characters at the start of the movie felt interminable - I felt like walking out. The basic problem was that the content and presentation of the VOs had no element of intrigue or interest (to me), it felt like being force-fed exposition about stuff that I just didn't care about. There was not "mystery" or "thrill" or even "drama" - the only feeling one had is "why are we being told all this boring-a$$ chit" and "I hope this is going somewhere SOON". But it wasn't "soon", it felt like a forever and a day.
**************SPOILER ALERT********************
The whole idea seems to turn simply on the "unreliable narrator" trope, which feels like a bit of a cheat or somewhat of a cheap gimmick. There really was very little tension derived from any sense of danger (and any such was very mild), and all down to the psychology of someone who develops a bad drinking problem that makes them vulnerable to the "gaslighting" by the bad guy. And then the whole thing turns into a tale of recognition and redeption and female solidarity - triggered most unbelievably by a single conversation on the train with her ex's former boss.
You could sum it up with "and guess what - everthing I said before and that was shown visually (so that it may fool the audience all the better) was all a false memory fed by my abusive ex, whom I used to worship until his former boss told me the score! Whew! Ta-da, happy ending and the guilty have been punished!"
That said, in searching for positives, I rather liked Emily Blunt here - I was very unimpressed with her acting in Sicario, which as I suspected was down to her being miscast in that movie - she was very convincing here, even if her accent was waxing and waning through the film.
Despite everything I didn't actively hate the movie, which is kind of a win. But I would not want to see it again.