Michael's Movie Grade: B+
An often hard to watch but very moving biopic of writers June and Jennifer Gibbons (who hardly spoke to anyone but each other for nearly 30 years).
This film is very different from your standard movie biopic. There is a shroud of mystery that hovers over the subjects of this film and there is nobody (but the two real people) who will ever know what was going on through their minds at any time. This film keeps that shroud firmly in place and never attempts to explain the actions these girls take. Instead we simply watch the story unfold and make of it what we will. This is the type of movie two people can watch and have completely different perspectives on. However this is the way the film should and has to be. To give any sort of explanation or have any deep character study would miss the point and do a great injustice to the real story. It would also take out just what makes this movie so compelling. Yet despite this (or perhaps because of this) there is an emotional power that is very effective, and the ending scene hit me hard in a way I did not expect. Many of these scenes can make the film hard to watch as they can make you feel emotions that you may not be willing to feel at times. This is also true as the movie moves into darker places as the film goes on. The subject matter (I don't wish to delve deeper into what this subject matter is as I feel it is best to approach this film knowing as little as possible) takes us to some dark places that are uncomfortable to go to, but that are necessary to make this film so effective. This movie is also enhanced by wonderful stop motion scenes (by Barbara Rupik, who has directed and animated some great short films (this is her first time working on a feature film)) based off some of the girls' stories. These scenes are in many ways delightful to watch but there is also a darker edge to them that grows all the more prevalent as the film goes on.
This movie does have its faults though. The movie can drag at times, especially during the middle portion, and therefore it feels longer than it actually is. This movie can also have quite a bit of dialogue that feels forced or awkward. This is quite understandable and easily forgivable as this is the first English language feature by the brilliant Polish director, Agnieszka Smoczynska (if you have not seen her horror-inspired fairy tale, The Lure (Córki dancingu) (2015), you really should). The same can be said about many other great filmmakers' first time making a film in a new language.
This is an excellent film, even if it can be hard to watch at times.
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