I saw this at a TIFF Reel Talk screening and was able to see the directors talk right after the screening. I went into this movie so blind, I didn't even know Reel Talk was a movie screening, as strange as that sounds. I found the film's biggest weakness was the lack of subtlety anywhere. Nothing was subtle, everything is virtually screamed at the audience, to the point where even the dialogue in the first half hour of the film felt completely unnecessary and just plain awful. The latter half did a better job of handling this, but I cannot get over just how obvious everything seems, because if it isn't, there's going to be a character explaining it within two seconds of it happening. And I saw all of this with woe because the directors themselves mentioned today that subtlety WAS in the film prior to the final drafts, and, boy, does this film sorely miss it. I'm sorry, the film is fine, but this need for subtlety that makes the first half of the film feel like non-stop obvious exposition and hammering everything into the audience to the point where you physically cannot misinterpret or just miss anything at all was really not doing this movie any favours. Had I not being seeing this in a theatre, but rather watching it at home, I 100% would have stopped watching within the first 20 minutes. Am I glad I stayed? The same way I would be glad I finished any movie, to say I did, and give my honest review. It gets a 5 because the acting was not bad, the second half of the film wasn't bad, but the first half really needed that subtlety. With it, this film could've been an 8.
Review of You Can Live Forever
