2.5/4
Everything before Sweden impressed me. It was brutal and real. But gimmicks trickled in. Some were spectacular, some cheesy. I haven't seen much horror, but I think I can spot some cliches. The writing was not the strong suit. The atmosphere was better, but even that flattened toward anti-climax. I was nervous coming into the movie. It actually disappointed me a little, wasn't as disturbing as I expected. And the end was unsatisfying. Maybe if that were her first smile in a while, or under saner circumstances, I'd believe she felt a modicum of happiness and that it wasn't just the helpless trauma smiling. I'd feel victorious with her. But there's nothing left for her. The smile doesn't imply relief or acceptance or happiness. It's arbitrary, like her smile during the drugged dance. Not only is the ending desolate of joy, it's not even that intense. The film peaked early. I stayed immersed but less impressed.
I hate the Mark character, not just as a character but as a work of screenwriting. Elements like that reminded me horror is not known for its artistic maturity, and despite some inspired visuals this movie doesn't stray far enough.
Pugh is awesome. I expected more torture of her, which would have been gruesome, given her ability to coax empathy. It would have intensified the movie, though we all would have been miserable. Aster keeps her torture emotional, normal, which is still tough, at least for a while, but at a certain point I stop buying her emotional turmoil, like when she sees Christian through the keyhole. She must have hardened by now. Physical torture to her on top of the emotional would have made the movie hard to bear, but that's the intensity I expected. The actual intensity, paired with some mediocre writing, offset some beautiful style.
