Movie Review: Xeno

 

Michael's Movie Grade: A-

A wonderful sci-fi film. 

This movie follows a teenage girl, who befriends an alien that the authorities think is dangerous. The basic storyline is a familiar one and comparisons to ET and The Iron Giant are inevitable. For a movie with this familiar of a storyline to stand out, the story must be told exceptionally well. Luckily that is completely the case here. Although certain parts of this film may be a bit intense for some kids, I can picture a kid seeing this and falling completely in love with it the way previous generations fell in love with the aforementioned movies. Everything about this movie is truly excellent. Like in all the best fantasy movies, the heart of the film rests in its main character. While she is not a perfect person and has more than a bit of the angry teenager in her, she is instantly relatable and easy to care about. We see so much of ourselves in her and can feel the pain she is going through having lost her dad. We see and understand why she felt she needed to build a wall around her. Because of this we know that beneath her rough exterior, she has a real heart of gold. This is especially shown through her relationship with the alien, which feels completely real and compelling to us. All of this is helped out a lot by 19-year-old (and already horror queen) actress, Lulu Wilson, who is fantastic in this main role. The alien itself is also fantastic. Unlike similar movies the alien design is not cute but in fact quite creepy looking. Because of this we start out a little weary of the creature but end up falling in love despite our initial reaction to its appearance. The creature has to truly earn our love and because of this the attachment we feel is greater. 

The creepy design to the creature and how lovable it ends up being, also perfectly reflects the tone of this movie. This is a movie that stresses the importance of something pure in a cynical world. There is a real warmth and sweetness to the relationship between the two main characters. At the same time the world of the film is full of cynical people, who can and will never understand the purity of the bond formed here. The movie lets us known very early on that these characters are never going to simply be won over because they see a heartwarming scene. This allows the movie to have a sentimental feel to it without ever feeling naive. This mixture of what is sweet and pure with what is cynical and without understanding makes this movie feel more emotional honest than other similar movies and helps make it feel like something special. 

A must see.