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59th Chicago International Film Festival, Capsule Reviews, Film reviews

Eric LaRue Review

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This is a film experience in which the tension makes viewers uneasy . The issue of mental health and the associated acceptance of errors poses challenges. The story demonstrates that people we love can also make mistakes. Eric LaRue is one of the most dramatic, vivid, and powerful films I have seen directed by Michael Shannon. The film includes many strong and realistic elements which make it anxiety producing.

The film focuses on Janice LaRue (played by Judy Greer). She is the mother of a son who shot and killed three boys. Her son is Eric (played by Nation Sage Henrikson). Janice’s life is at an impasse due to her son’s actions. Her husband Ron (played by Alexander Skarsgard) tries to lean on religion to help him cope with their son’s tragedy. Ultimately, Janice struggles to adapt to a life filled with guilt and hatred after her son’s lethal mistake. The film is a poetic journey of life after a devastating tragedy. The story leaves a trail of difficult questions along the way.

Eric LaRue hit an emotional chord with me because it was so realistic. As someone who has faced struggles during various periods in my own life, the film raised my curiosity about how to be stronger after experiencing a traumatic event in life. The movie was full of humanistic elements which ranged from devastating to encouraging. Most parts of the film may leave audiences emotionally drained. However, some viewers may also hope for a revelation in the tragic aftermath at the center of the film.

From my vantage point, I believe the film portrays that there are ways in which parents can learn from their children. This can be true even if the choices their children make negatively impact others. Janice realizes that Eric has suffered with some mental issues and feelings of disconnect. She never imagined the worst-case scenario. Just because Eric did something terrible, it does not mean he is a terrible person. Still, he has to suffer the consequences for his behavior.

Janice’s life does not have to be ruined forever, and she does not have to hate herself forever. She needs to learn to navigate the harshness of her reality after the choices her son has made. There is still a world of different possibilities for Janice, for Eric, and for life moving forward for everyone in the film. Shannon’s is poetic in the way that it brings out natural human emotions. Eric LaRue changed my perspective on the realism displayed in movies. This experience made me realize how much one individual’s world can have a dramatic impact upon others while also allowing for light somewhere at the end of the tunnel.

Eric LaRue is not for everyone. Despite the sadness of the serious topic explored in the film, it does leave a positive message which I related to and appreciated. The film is an emotional roller coaster and a one-of-a-kind drama that will touch viewers in different ways. Three out of four stars.

Film reviews

Foe Review

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Foe is set in a near apocalypse where young love is tested. The film is based on the novel by Iain Reid published in 2018. Reid also co-wrote the screenplay with director Garth Davis. The film will leave audiences wondering what can change in the future due to love and the trends of a new era. What goes around, comes around in Foe. It is a film filled with parallel angles for acouple played by Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal as husband and wife. The young love between the two makes the audience curious about their fate. Their solitude married life turns into a sci-fi revelation. However, it can lead to dire consequences.

The year is 2065. The setting is a secluded farm where thecouple, Hen and Junior, live. The farm has been in Junior’s family for many years. Hen and Junior find themselves in a mixed place with each other. One day, a stranger comes to their door out of the blue. His name is Terrance (played by Aaron Pierre), and he offers Hen and Junior a proposal that will change their life forever. Terrance offers Junior the opportunity to take on a job at an orbiting space station. However, Hen cannot go. Junior wants the mission but does not want to leave his wife. Hen wants what is best for Junior but feels a sense of disconnect. The solitary lifestyle that Hen and Junior live is not free of problems. Terrance involves himself in their life by using artificial intelligence and all kinds of eerie experiments to bring new revelations into all their lives. The film explores the future of artificial intelligence and reveals that it does not always find a proper balance with love.

Foe’s direction is spellbinding, the emotions are poetic, and the tension is strong. There are complicated dynamics between Hen, Junior, and Terrance. What is Terrence trying to do? Create something better for Hen and Foe? Create something revolutionary for himself? Is there more to the future that Hen and Junior are not aware of? Is Terrance bringing any positive change to the life of Hen and Junior? Ultimately, there is more dramatics to the power of love in Foe. Love is hard, and the sci-fi narrative of Foe adds that concept to the futuristic reality that is the center of this movie. Ultimately, the reversal of time in this enthralling setting falls flat which is why there are many unanswered questions.

Foe is promising to the audience because of the feelings Junior and Hen have for each other. The performances of Ronan and Mescal are deep. What Terrance is doing to them may seem beneficial, but also, they are in love. Do they want their relationship to have other unnecessary elements? The secluded life they lead is where their struggle is. Could a change in their reality offer something better? Only Junior and Hen can know what is right for them. Terrance can only provide what his offer has in store.

The future of Foe may have a light that comes fromchange, or a could involve a life that is in a turmoil of sadness. The young love between Junior and Hen is where Foe thrives. Once Terrance is part of the picture, the writing and direction go awry. Fortunately, the film does not go downhill dreadfully, but does lose its pacing and fails to be totally engrossing. Thankfully, the cinematography of the settings remains strong throughout. Two-and-a-half out of four stars for Foe.

Film reviews

Aporia Review

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There are films in which grief is a challenge and tragedies have meaning. There are also films where the deceased comes back to life. In Aporia, written and directed by Jared Moshe, a life is restored, and the continuum is challenged in the aftermath of a tragedy. The film involves scientific knowledge of the past and the present, both of which are filled with drama and the turmoil of frustrations x Aporia is a film that leaves mixed feelings because of how the “good” and the “bad” open doors to aconfused reality for everyone involved.

The film begins with Sophie (played by Judy Greer). She is a single mother with a young daughter, Riley (played by Faithe Herman). Sophie’s husband Mal (played by Edi Gathegi) has been killed in a car accident. The months following are emotionally stressful for Sophie and Riley. Riley is acting outand Sophie is struggling with work. Above all, both are simply devastated and depressed. Sophie’s friend Jabir (played by Payman Maadi) reveals his invention to Sophie. It is a time-bending machine that changes the course of events. Because Jabir is a former physicist, he uses science to put pieces together to change reality in the present. This means that Sophie can bring Mal back. However, are there consequences?

The decisions which Sophie and Jabir make can have negative outcomes. Jabir consistently uses scientific terms and is always talking about how particles, quantum reactions, and energies are the components of importance for the film’s operations. Sophie finds this mentally stressful. The writing in Aporia is vivid in describing how grief may lead to the impulse to feel connected. Sophie wants Mal back. In the film it is said, “There is no undo button,” and from that point on many unexpected outcomes occur. Once the machine begins to generate, it throws many irreparable consequences into Sophie’s life…with or without bringing Mal back to life.

The film is intriguing in the way it portrays changing environments. The science behind the film is solid, but not exactly amazing. Sophie’s environment shifts—her settings are not always the same, her routines in her own life are a mess, and her world is just scattered with confusion. The reality of the present opens more dangerous doors. Aporia is a bit like a scientific Tetris game filled with various treacherous doors. Aporia is a film full of curiosities which lead to thoughts aboutwhat could possibly go wrong. The movie also made me think about what exactly is life-threatening for Sophie, Jabir, Riley, and Mal.

The theories of the machine may not be enough to prove that the machine is safe or accurate. It is all in the hands of Sophie to figure out what is right. Aporia is a film that dives into a world of the unknown…one where science has both pros and cons. Overall, the film is an enjoyable experience to the extent it is a sci-fi with a strong narrative. Three out of four stars for Aporia.