RIDICULOUS
I love early 2000s action films and I love this style of filmmaking, the over the top saturation and contrast, the unnecessary repetitions throughout the film, all of these camera techniques and visual effects and aaaaa!!! I feel sorry for whomever had to edit this.
Found out while watching that it is based on a true story - a truer story than I expected could be possible. Definitely over the top but I enjoyed this too much to care about the quality of filmmaking.
The thing is: it looks stunning. The choice of blue, yellow, and gray, as I recognize from 2000s fantasy films, works beautifully. The cinematography, with slow pans, is not entirely original but functions as a repetitive effect, adding a slowness that suits the story well. In smoky rooms and under candlelight the focus remains on atmosphere and dialogue.
That dialogue is, at times, delivered flatly, and the old-fashioned English distracts from an equally flat script. The acting is so-so—too theatrical…
This film finds rhythm in archival footage and melody in politics. With that, the editing makes room in this very dense load of information for emotion and whatever it is that makes us human.
