Review of Honeymoon (2014) by Sean I — 12 Sep 2014

A classic case of (nearly) squandered potential, HONEYMOON flirts with interesting ideas, and it's got two fine performances at its center, but it never comes together the way it feels like it should.

As our tormented newlywed couple, Leslie and Treadaway do some very nice work; it's Leslie, in particular, who goes all-in, unafraid of the the somewhat squirm-inducing things that befall her character, and she manages to create a sympathetic portrait of this young woman's breakdown.

The movie's well shot, and for the most part the character writing is well-observed and natural. Where the movie really stumbles is in its handling of the central mystery surrounding Leslie's character; there's some truly creepy stuff hinted at, but the movie never goes far enough into the horror direction, at least until the ending, by which point the more "body horror"-ish elements feel almost out of place given the more low key nature of the things that come before.

The fact that the ultimate revelation of what's happening to these people is left marginally ambiguous is kind of refreshing in one sense, but in another its frustrating because it feels like the movie is holding back the really good/fun/interesting stuff, preferring to let the audience fill in perhaps one too many blanks for themselves.

HONEYMOON's thematic ambition is admirable, and its heart is in the right place, but it feels like a missed opportunity, good lead performances or not.