It's not often when a film takes multiple turns in its shifts in tone. But this film did do things that took me by surprise.
The way it started showed some promise of a story of determination, redemption, freedom and the power of sisterhood etc.
But with themes of identity looking to be centre stage as the film goes on, I was a bit unsure how this would end.
When it suddenly took a major shift in its story, I felt almost uncomfortable where we potentially were going. Then came another twist that reminded me of American Animals in its style. That final change in tone and structure made the film as a whole better to relate and engage with after briefly thinking it was going down a route that I fear would lose the audience.
However, I feel they could have stretched the emotion of the final given what was involved.
The performances are fairly solid. The stars were child actors and real life sisters Lorenzo and Ilonna Grimaudo. Their natural bond and charm really worked and became really infectious by the end of it.
Dina Amer did a decent job with what she was given. But I feel I would have liked more out of her given what this film ended up being about.
Despite some of the revelations, I think this remained a decent watch overall that surprised me and I think it is best to go in not knowing anything.
However, I think under different hands, this could have gone into depth and been more impactful given the subject matter involved. I would like to now see a remake of this.
No comments:
Post a Comment