FilmSnobReviews

Title: Under the Silver Lake
MPAA Rating: R
Director: David Robert Mitchell
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Riley Keough, Grace Van Patten
Runtime: 2 hr 19 mins

What It Is: Sam (Garfield) is an absolute loser. When he meets the lovely and mysterious Sarah (Keough) he is instantly smitten. When suddenly, she is nowhere to be seen the next day Sam searches for her. What he finds is not what he intended. Instead of the girl that stole his heart, he finds the dark underbelly of Los Angeles. A place filled with parties, drugs and vapid people who’re only concerned with living the lavish lives of Los Angelenos.

What We Think: What the actual eff was this movie? So, David Robert Mitchell is a filmmaker who’s sophomore venture came up roses. Not only was It Follows one of the decades best horror films…it’s simply good filmmaking. Here Mitchell sacrifices some things. A cohesive story…nah we don’t need that! Good acting? We’ll make it good enough. A satisfying ending? What for? Andrew Garfield is extraordinary here, even if everything around is a chaotic mess of bad storytelling and mediocre writing. Enough nods to pop culture to throw regular audiences off the scent of mania they’re witnessing. This is a film like no other in recent years. For that Mitchell deserves praise.

Our Grade: C+, This is one that comes off as a bit of a disappointment. If strictly looking at it from a potential standpoint. You had a hot director with a guy I think should have an Oscar on his mantle (for The Social Network). What you SHOULD get is an Oscar front runner. Instead, the film struggles its way through a way too long runtime. Seriously 139 mins? Gotta tighten that up, man! Check this out if only for the spectacle of what it is…and not it’s lack of anything substantial.