I really like Ethan Hawke as an actor. I don't even know why I do. He wasn't really on my radar until Sinister, and I've worked my way back from there. But as much as I enjoy him acting (if not his films themselves aside from Sinister and Daybreakers), even that can't make me say this was a good film, and as much as I enjoy abstraction and expression, there are some things I'm left not understanding, but the film is unfortunately too boring and underwhelming to have warranted a thousand think pieces by film essayists, so I'm left scrunching my face somewhat.
I enjoyed Ethan, at least, but I'd never recommend this or watch this again. It's not fascinatingly vague and open to interpretation; it's just vague. It's clearly a movie pretending to be something it's not. I was sitting here thinking a fascinating story would have been about his same situation (sans the family I couldn't care less about) but focusing on his "job" in the locked room. There were many mysteries and thrills they could have made out of it instead of the pretentious, half-baked, poorly paced, dull "story" we actually got. (Also, the characterization of the immigrant characters is suspect.)
I enjoyed Ethan, at least, but I'd never recommend this or watch this again. It's not fascinatingly vague and open to interpretation; it's just vague. It's clearly a movie pretending to be something it's not. I was sitting here thinking a fascinating story would have been about his same situation (sans the family I couldn't care less about) but focusing on his "job" in the locked room. There were many mysteries and thrills they could have made out of it instead of the pretentious, half-baked, poorly paced, dull "story" we actually got. (Also, the characterization of the immigrant characters is suspect.)