Watched Mar 19, 2025
There’s a lot to chew on and a lot to like in this film, even if it’s sometimes a bit contrived. There’s really smart theory going on and it feels like the epilogue just starts to break past that into a more interesting story. The cast really is all my faves, but Ayo definitely shines and people could learn from her mastery of tonal neutrality that affords so many reads of single moment. The only piece that didn’t really sell was Malkovich as a former pop star — or at least the quality of music production, thanks to The-Dream, was only suitable for true pop stars, not actors. I still love him, though; the acting was otherwise top tier, as usual. Ultimately, I wanted more exploration of the central thesis, rather than the flashy mystery horror this was.