Review of Mandy (2018) by Tryasummersault — 24 Sep 2018

6.7/10 A brooding slow burn thats pretentious at times with very striking visual prowess.

Though predominately it plays like another attempt at high brow ultra cinematic "art" for pseudo intellectual hipster film snobs and indie loving critics, there is a plethora of excellent redeeming visuals. The plot is a simple revenge tale with some deeper attempts at symbolic thematics. It moves at tortoise pace for a majority of the time and lucky enough for the viewers the long drawn out exposition scenes are shot in intriguing manner with vibrant colorization and beautifully lush cinematography. Unfortunately the dialogue is so incredibly annoying and ridiculous it bogs these slow scenes down somewhat. There are a few downright brilliant sequences when the bizarre and twisted visuals rise this above mediocrity. The practical effects on the creatures are realistic and fantastically intense. Towards the finale it picks up when the blood soaked revenge kicks into insane levels of high gear and this is when the film is is at its most effective with Cage wreaking absolute havoc. Cage is his normal self as far as his emotional acting and it's good to see him get some recognition once again. The soundtrack is very well done and sets the tone in brilliant fashion. Overall if you can look past some of the arthouse smugness of the dialogue, pacing, symbolism, and appreciate the ultraviolece and colorful visuals and sounds, it's an interesting ride.