When I heard Daniel Day Lewis was coming out of retirement to make a film with his son, it was all I needed to know. I was in. One ticket please.
The film follows Jem Stoker (Sean Bean) as he goes on a search for his brother Ray (Day Lewis) who lives off the grid out in the woods. Ray has a tragic history of being discharged from the army or whatever he was part of and chooses to not be a part of society. His son, Brian, lives with his mother and Jem who has taken up with the mother over the years. Jem spends days trying to convince his brother to go back into society to talk to his son who is now having issues of his own.
Story wise, it’s interesting enough to be engaging but gets a bit long sometimes when scenes drag on with little dialogue. These silences are filled with music which I enjoyed but also wished director Ronan Day Lewis had let the silence speak for itself. Those two brothers have a lot of baggage weighing them down and I would have liked to see a bit more awkwardness with the silences. Not a deal breaker though because the dialogue that is there is great especially when Daniel Day Lewis is monologuing. I could watch that all day.
Visually, this film is stunning. Cinematography is truly a work of art here. The forest setting adds to the ambient dark undertones of the film with all the PTSD that both brothers deal with. There is also a scene with an epic hail storm that is as beautiful visually as the sound is engaging. It really pulls the viewer into the film as the storm happens at both the house where the mother and son live and out in the wilds. Makes the world feel very small to share that experience when the characters are so far apart. A beautiful moment.
Sean Bean and Daniel Day Lewis put in great performances, but it is the latter who really shines. And are we at all surprised? Daniel Day Lewis made a career out of playing imperfect characters. Add this to the list of memorable performances.
3.5 out of 5 stars.
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Becky Tyler Art and Photography 
When I heard Daniel Day Lewis was coming out of retirement to make a film with his son, it was all I needed to know. I was in. One ticket please.
The film follows Jem Stoker (Sean Bean) as he goes on a search for his brother Ray (Day Lewis) who lives off the grid out in the woods. Ray has a tragic history of being discharged from the army or whatever he was part of and chooses to not be a part of society. His son, Brian, lives with his mother and Jem who has taken up with the mother over the years. Jem spends days trying to convince his brother to go back into society to talk to his son who is now having issues of his own.
Story wise, it’s interesting enough to be engaging but gets a bit long sometimes when scenes drag on with little dialogue. These silences are filled with music which I enjoyed but also wished director Ronan Day Lewis had let the silence speak for itself. Those two brothers have a lot of baggage weighing them down and I would have liked to see a bit more awkwardness with the silences. Not a deal breaker though because the dialogue that is there is great especially when Daniel Day Lewis is monologuing. I could watch that all day.
Visually, this film is stunning. Cinematography is truly a work of art here. The forest setting adds to the ambient dark undertones of the film with all the PTSD that both brothers deal with. There is also a scene with an epic hail storm that is as beautiful visually as the sound is engaging. It really pulls the viewer into the film as the storm happens at both the house where the mother and son live and out in the wilds. Makes the world feel very small to share that experience when the characters are so far apart. A beautiful moment.
Sean Bean and Daniel Day Lewis put in great performances, but it is the latter who really shines. And are we at all surprised? Daniel Day Lewis made a career out of playing imperfect characters. Add this to the list of memorable performances.
3.5 out of 5 stars.
Discover more from Becky Tyler Art and Photography
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
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