Review of Berlin Syndrome (2017) by Kace C — 27 Nov 2017
A well-made but frustrating and tedious kidnapping thriller, Berlin Syndrome can be admired for its bleak depiction of abduction, as well as it's true to life performances. But the films drags its premise to an overextended hour and 51 minutes, largely through padded scenes of things moving in slow-motion for absolutely no discernible reason.
What starts out quite fascinating becomes a slog, and the kidnapped lead's complete inability and reluctance to ask her captor anything at all about why he's doing it, or her serious disinterest in any significant escape attempt becoming insanely annoying.
The film is about Stockholm Syndrome, whereby the abducted comes to understand and even sympathise with their abductor, but this character is powerless and motivationless from the start, making her very difficult to care about.
She's doesn't have a lot of personality, and for large stretches of time I was howling at her to do something, anything. Instead the film limps on through a series of increasingly uninteresting scenarios, climaxing with a whimper rather than a bang, and the subsequent feeling that you've wasted your time.
Admittedly atmospheric and occasionally affecting, but mostly a dull, meandering path from a good conceit to a flaccid execution.
This review of Berlin Syndrome (2017) was written by Kace C on 27 Nov 2017.
Berlin Syndrome has generally received positive reviews.
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