Review of A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014) by Jeremy H — 12 May 2015

Some filmmakers are so masterful they don't need a coherent plot or much of anything to happen on-screen. They hypnotize and memorize us with the basics of film as art, the marriage of moving pictures and sound. Then comes along a little foreign film called A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night.

The opening looks like a spaghetti Western yet sounds like a French art film. We immediately like the protagonist. He is patient, determined, likes cats and works hard to get what he wants. Though he is a decent man, he is weak and far from perfect. His trouble starts due to his father's heroin addiction. After the first 30 minutes, his trouble seems to be over. As the film begins to loose our initial interest, it moves slower and slower until it becomes almost painful to watch.

The story takes place in Bad City, which is like where the world of David Lynch's Eraserhead meets Sin City. As exciting as that sounds in concept, the lackluster screenplay spoils any hope of excitement. About half way through, the film reveals itself as a love story. However, this lacks the tender magic of Let the Right One In. The characters are interesting enough but the suspense is wondering what this is all building up to. The film hints at a grand finale. A revenge-fueled blood bath of an ending. Unfortunately, it seems writer/director Ana Lily Amirpour wanted to make a Robert Rodriquez/Quentin Tarantino inspired film without any violence.

For a horror film, it isn't scary. For a romance, it lacks passion. For a thriller, it is void of any thrills. In the end, it comes off as a piece of pretentious art-house cinema only suited for international film festival audiences. As good as the film looks and as slow as the story moves, it lacks the hypnotic quality of a master like Jim Jarmusch. It literally feels as if the filmmakers ran out of money before they could shoot the finale.

This is one of the most unsatisfying and deceiving films ever made. It's like going to a boxing match or UFC fight and the announcer comes out saying, "Sorry folks, the fighters came to a diplomatic solution and decided violence wasn't the answer. They're off riding bikes under a rainbow now.".