Review of Men, Women & Children (2014) by Opinionatedguy — 12 May 2015

This movie is not quite a critical favorite. In fact, I have seen some people saying that this is one of the worst movies of 2014. I don’t know how to feel about it because I really enjoyed this movie.

I was expecting this movie to be more internet-focused but I am glad that what I got is a character-focused movie. The internet is more of a background used as a way how it affects people’s lives.

I love how the movie was shot. The cinematography is beautiful and I am so glad I get to see this movie in full HD.

I am not a big fan of the narration by Emma Thompson. It felt unnecessary and pretentious to the movie and it’s only added to make the movie more “artful” than what it should be.

In regards to the movie’s plots, it’s more of a mixed bag. I’ll start with the ones I don’t like.

I really didn’t like the plot about the characters of Hannah, the wannabee star and her mother. This particular plot’s logic is flawed. The plots about the unusual porn addicted teenager Kent and the anorexic girl were underdeveloped and did not give out a proper ending.

I liked Don and Helen’s plot about their unsatisfied sexual desires. That kind of plot is cliched but it was executed well thanks to the satisfying conclusion. My favorite plot was Tim and Brandy’s plot. I could relate to Brandy a lot about how my parents are over-protective. The only difference is that my mother is not on the same level as her mother. The only problem is that the mother is such a one-dimensional character that it’s hard to really understand her motivations. It feels like she is there only to be hated by the viewers.

The cast performances from Adam Sandler, Rosemarie DeWitt, Ansel Elgort and Kaitlyn Dever were my favorite parts of this movie. It’s impressive to see that I don’t see Adam Sandler is in this movie because he is the character instead. I wish he could do more dramatic roles like this instead of making crappy comedy movies that he usually does.

It’s not a perfect movie but I love it for its beautiful cinematography, some well-executed plots and the cast performances from Sandler, DeWitt, Elgort and Dever.