Review of Velvet Buzzsaw (2019) by Marcmifsud — 02 Feb 2019

BREAKDOWN:

Writing: Velvet Buzzsaw struggles to find motivation. Although it may be hidden under the pile of obscurity it creates, it is seemingly not there. There is no rhyme or reason why the characters that die are the ones that die. If this is the case of the "no motivation killer" such as 'Halloween' then perhaps not enough characters died. Some characters are left in the end to live and you are left wondering why and how they fit into the puzzle besides relationships to other characters. And speaking of the character relationships, most of them in this film have no purpose and are there to give a bit more life to the characters. They in no way fit into the plot and just make the film feel like 'Sex and the City'. 4/10.

Performances: With the likes of Jake Gyllenhaal and Toni Collette, how could this film not have good acting? Gyllenhaal's mental breakdown and degradation are some of the high points in the movie. I only wish we had seen more Toni Collette and John Malkovich in the overall impact of the story. 7/10.

Cinematography: The cinematography is uninspiring and nothing flashy. It only serves to show us directly what is on the screen (until the end when the frame replicates something we've seen before). Also, in some scenes, the cinematography does not fit the tone of the scene itself. 4/10.

Editing: The editing is choppy in some places. Some cut choices were unideal, in my opinion. But besides that, also nothing special. 4/10.

Visual Effects: The VFX is one of the highlights of the films. Some of the killings are done in beautiful ways that make the film not boring to watch. 8/10.

Enjoyment: 'Velvet Buzzsaw' is mostly not boring. The relationships, although tacky, give us something to pay attention to during the key moments of the story. The horror elements are also well-done, minus some pointless jumpscares. Also, it was great finally seeing a bisexual main character in a movie. 6/10.

Musical Score: The score is beautiful in some moments and fuses well with the imagery. However, early on in the film, there were moments where the music absolutely did not fit what was happening on-screen. 4/10.

Sound Mixing: Just like the cinematography and editing, there was nothing flashy here. Although, there is one scene where the sound mixing is implemented cleverly to scare a character, but misses on scaring the audience. 6/10.

Production Design: The scenes are beautifully crafted, which is especially important for a film about artists and art. 8/10.

'Velvet Buzzsaw' is an enjoyable movie for its larger moments, but fails at providing a story that truly satisfies audiences' cravings. It gives us too much with the characters and not enough with the world.