FilmSnobReviews

Title: Meadowland
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Reed Moreno
Starring: Olivia Wilde, Luke Wilson, John Leguizamo
Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins

What It Is: When loving parents Sarah (Wilde) and Phil (Wilson) lose their son at a gas station they have no idea who or where he could have been taken. Both policeman Phil and his wife have very different ways of dealing with their grief. Where Phil seeks forgiveness in the form of therapy and resolution Sarah seeks to escape in the forms of self-injury and mania. She’s juxtaposed her love on to a child named Adam, who has Asperger’s, and becomes obsessed with him. This is where Sarah’s lack of acceptance hits it’s peak and her reality and actuality begin to blend.

What We Think: Olivia Wilde gives a harrowing free fall of a performance without a net in sight. Living up to her surname she is indeed wild, contemptible and otherwise awful in most ways. Yet it’s her known pain that offers her sympathy. This is where the strength lies in her turn. Likewise, Luke Wilson is his best in years. There is a definite tone to the film and it’s a depressive affair all around. It works given the gut punch we’re set up with, and that’s well delivered.

Our Grade: B, This is a good film, one delicately place together. Its fragility probably stems from the characters that we are focusing on. I’m going to recommend you all check this out if you can. Sure it is a slow burn, and a helluva depressing ride, but the character study is worth it. You get a chance to truly feel the pain within Wilde’s performance and she is worth a watch even if you wanna kill her and her bad decisions. This is a grossly underseen film worth your time so I’d love for all you FilmSnobs to go and watch this!