Acidman

Prior to fine rom-com "Meet Cute" Alex Lehmann directed the intimate, weighty yet sluggish dramas "Blue Jay", "Paddleton" & "Acidman". In the latter 20-something Dianna Agron (Alicia Vikander-esque) visits a remote, craggy, forested Oregon coast to try connecting with her estranged, reclusive & possibly mentally ill dad Thomas Haden Church (likeable as ever) who lives alone with his dog 'communicating' with UFOs. Plot-wise Lehmann & Chris Dowling's script is disappointingly thin, but as a dual character study it's rich enough (helped by the great two central performances (especially Agron)) - whether that's enough to entertain most tho is debatable.

Firstly, I'd just like to point out how beautiful this film looks, especially with its opening establishing shots. The camerawork and mise-en scene are on point throughout and really give an accurate sense of place and time. However, whilst entertaining (if not a little slow) this movie does have some flaws baked into its script. For me, the Father is a well acted character with a lot to be uncovered, but his arc just doesn't progress as the film goes on, and too much is left unsaid about what is actually going on with him. Its arguable that the director leaves this up to the viewer to decide, but considering the films runtime and lack of any other subplots, its hard to excuse this lack of character development and closure by the time the credits roll. I'd recommend this movie to anyone who likes a slower paced character driven drama, but isn't expecting too much by the films conclusion. Acidman is a perfect lazy Sunday watch when things to do are light on the ground.

I like Thomas Haden Church so I went in to watch this thinking it was a bit of a departure from his usual type of film. However there is no sci fi element in it at all, s don't let that confuse you. I also used to like Dianna Agron but as she aged she did not improve her skills, and in this film I think it's very telling that Haden Church has all the chops here. Agron did okay I suppose, but not great and I was quite disappointed at the lack of chemistry between them. I put that down to Agron, I don't think she has much depth. The blurb says they work through their past but their is actually very little dialogue about this. It's about 30 minutes short of a good film. It wasn't awful, but it certainly didn't deliver on expectation.

Acidman is a wonderful indie Drama/Sci-fi film that has excellent performances from the two lead actors. From the first scene with them together I could see their acting talent in the way they were expressing their character's facial expression's and their body language. Hayden-Church's character has left end-stage American Capitalism behind where he was an engineer and moved into the damp Oregon wilderness to be alone living in a trailer with his dog Migo while making experimental electronic music and going on night missions to watch UFO's appear in the sky above a nearby resevoir. His daughter has come to check on his well being from back east because she is worried about his well being, and is also dealing with some issues of her own she is reluctant to share with her father. Their interactions look and feel so genuine, the writing of the script is really tight It didn't drag at all with unnecessary plot twists, and the UFO interactions shown in the movie make me believe whoever was involved in hashing out that part of the story had real life experience with the phenomenon. This is a great movie for people 16 and up that enjoy indie flicks.

Firstly, I'd just like to point out how beautiful this film looks, especially with its opening establishing shots. The camerawork and mise-en scene are on point throughout and really give an accurate sense of place and time. However, whilst entertaining (if not a little slow) this movie does have some flaws baked into its script. For me, the Father is a well acted character with a lot to be uncovered, but his arc just doesn't progress as the film goes on, and too much is left unsaid about what is actually going on with him. Its arguable that the director leaves this up to the viewer to decide, but considering the films runtime and lack of any other subplots, its hard to excuse this lack of character development and closure by the time the credits roll. I'd recommend this movie to anyone who likes a slower paced character driven drama, but isn't expecting too much by the films conclusion. Acidman is a perfect lazy Sunday watch when things to do are light on the ground.

Prior to fine rom-com "Meet Cute" Alex Lehmann directed the intimate, weighty yet sluggish dramas "Blue Jay", "Paddleton" & "Acidman". In the latter 20-something Dianna Agron (Alicia Vikander-esque) visits a remote, craggy, forested Oregon coast to try connecting with her estranged, reclusive & possibly mentally ill dad Thomas Haden Church (likeable as ever) who lives alone with his dog 'communicating' with UFOs. Plot-wise Lehmann & Chris Dowling's script is disappointingly thin, but as a dual character study it's rich enough (helped by the great two central performances (especially Agron)) - whether that's enough to entertain most tho is debatable.

I like Thomas Haden Church so I went in to watch this thinking it was a bit of a departure from his usual type of film. However there is no sci fi element in it at all, s don't let that confuse you. I also used to like Dianna Agron but as she aged she did not improve her skills, and in this film I think it's very telling that Haden Church has all the chops here. Agron did okay I suppose, but not great and I was quite disappointed at the lack of chemistry between them. I put that down to Agron, I don't think she has much depth. The blurb says they work through their past but their is actually very little dialogue about this. It's about 30 minutes short of a good film. It wasn't awful, but it certainly didn't deliver on expectation.