DVD Review: Restless

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There's a lot you can get done in 3 months.

Enoch (Henry Hopper) is a lonely boy who crashes funerals in his free time. He frequently talks to a ghost, Hiroshi (Ryo Kase) who was a Japanese Kamikaze pilot who's hobbies now include playing Battle Ship with Enoch and throwing rocks at trains. While at a random funeral Enoch meets Annabel, (Mia Wasikowska) a terminally ill girl who's been given a few months to live. They become friends, and fall in love, and face the matter of death together.

I really wanted to like this movie, but when you think of Gus Van Sant's last film, Milk in comparison, this is a let down. Sure it has a nice score, and a few of Van Sant's signature shooting techniques (but no long shot..surprising, apparently he got all his long shots in while filming Paranoid Park) but casting Henry Hopper as the lead was a huge mistake. He's wooden, whiny, and boring. Thankfully Mia was there to save most of the movie, but when you're acting opposite someone with zero charisma it's hard for you to shine as well. I hate to place my dislike of a film solely on the actor, but Hopper really is the elephant in the room here. Hopefully he will take a few acting lessons in the future.

Recommended: No

Grade: C

Memorable Quote: "When you think about it, humans haven't been around as long as reptiles, so 3 months could be like 300 years.." - Annabel (Mia Wasikowska)



Comments

  1. Candice FrederickFebruary 7, 2012 at 7:12 PM

    yeah, Hopper wasn't really great in this. but i thought Mia was solid. i also thought the film rested too heavily on the quirky factor, which bugged me

    ReplyDelete

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