Review of Suburbicon (2017) by Sean T — 21 Nov 2017

Suburbicon often feels like a melting pot of good ideas that, unfortunately, lacks the key ingredients that help seamlessly intertwine them together. However, this isn't necessarily surprising, given that the writing is credited to the Cohen brothers, George Clooney, and Grant Heslov-a talented cast of writers, yes, but all with different visions on the film's direction.

Taking place in the mid-twentieth century at the height of utopian / idealized suburbia, Suburbicon tells a somewhat murder-mystery, black comedy, social commentary type of story. While the concept of mashing all three together isn't unfeasible, the focus of each often feels disjointed resulting in a misguided hodge podge. The overarching narrative isn't given enough attention to solidify itself as the backbone of the movie, and the racial injustice depicted and random spurts of comedy feel tacked on, rather than interwoven.

While I can't quite put my finger on what exact feeling the film invokes, it's somewhere between frustration and underutilized potential. From a visual standpoint, the film is fairly aesthetically pleasing, and does more than enough to immerse viewers in its pseudo-perfect world. When it comes to performances, Matt Damon and Julianne Moore do about as well as they can with what's given-problem being is that they aren't exactly tasked with doing very much. Damon's ending monologue noteworthy, but it's moreso a cherry on top of a non-existent cake. The only redeeming portion of the movie is when Oscar Isaac appears on screen. His delivery and overall composure exudes confidence and wit, and had the film been able to reproduce that same standard across its entirety, then we'd be on the verge of something special. Instead we leave with the sentiment of a glass-half-empty.

Suburbicon isn't a terrible movie-just underwhelming. It's unfortunate that the pieces to several different good movies can be seen, only to be patched together in lackluster fashion. I'm left wondering if instead the movie would've been better off in an episodic format. Or, you know, with one writer.