Just saw this on Amazon. The economic, class, race, and power struggles that played out were amazing. Watching an artist trying to survive and create through it all gave me a new perspective on the pain. Also the alien’s conservative perception of human culture and art (TV source material and conclusions) was chilling. The reactions of the humans after that left me doing this…
Excellent movie. I’m still processing it. I love this kind of angry daring.
I can fully accept people not wanting to see this, i found it incredibly tense and uncomfortable to watch at times (90% of that feeling being due to Jesse Plemons’ scene stealing turn) and it felt too close to home even across this side of the Atlantic. That may explain why i cried not long after leaving the cinema and that surprised me but it had an impact for sure. I also cannot see this film as anything other than a war against fascism, why it came to be is vague at best but i don’t think it’s ambiguous as to what the Western Forces are fighting against. Are war photographers merely passive observers though? That’s an interesting debate to have.
I’ve seen several folks say that, but I’ve also seen analysis also saying it was very much a centrist argument? Including Garland himself.
Well, but how is that presented, though, that it’s explicitly fascist? Part of my concerns has been how Garland has said it’s the middle against the extremes, and that sort of flies in the face of the reality we’re facing right now, as if the far left and right are engaged in acts of violence aimed at people in the same measure. Obviously, acts of violence can be carried out by anyone, and people can believe that they are doing the right thing, because of their belief in the cause (whatever that is). But how one gets from ideology to violence, I think, matters.
That I do appreciate, because I don’t think that’s the case. None of us are “objective” about the world and how it impacts us and others.
Anyway, thanks for sharing your experience of this film!
In the interview i linked to before he wouldn’t commit to either way but insisted that there are people who will read into it the exact opposite of what i think the war is about. So, i can understand why some are saying it’s frustratingly centrist but that’s not how it came across to me.
That they’re trying to depose a third term Pres who has called airstrikes on civilians? Also i couldn’t help noticing that when you see refugees in this film fleeing towns and cities that they are overwhelming non-white and the seemingly idyllic little town they drive through is all white and if, as Garland has said, you can guarantee he has thought about it then i think it’s intentional. The film has this aura of telling me it’s a fight against fascism and white supremacy without explicitly telling me so.
I just think creators aren’t often the best judges of their own work, see Bradbury and Farenheit 451 as a classic example, and i’m trying to separate his vague answers in interviews to what i see in the film.
Yeah, but I’m gonna say that I think that violence of that sort can be either right or left wing…
Hmm… that does give it a bit more of a fascist tinge. But that could also be his acknowledgement of the American reality?
Could be?
Makes sense…
It’s probably still not something I’ll go see in the theater but maybe once it’s out on whatever streaming service…
Thanks again!
This was a rather fun horror film…
Or maybe you are just scraping the barrel with “superheroes” nobody cares about or non-hardcore Marvel fans haven’t even heard of.
No, no, it must be the kids’ fault. Only explanation that makes sense.
Superheroes nobody cares about, like a stupid talking raccoon?
It’s not the characters, it’s declining quality.
[ETA]
Just a thought on this without having seen the movie yet: Garland both in the film and his interviews is showing a certain level of savviness that people who might want a more in your face stance don’t exactly like. Explicitly committing to a side for a movie like that is going to court controversy that might impact the movie’s potential audience. And while there may be some basic capitalist need there (I need this movie to make money in order to make more movies), it might get people he may disagree with to see the movie and notice things both familiar and uncomfortable.
Just giving him and the movie the benefit of the doubt. Can’t say I’ve got too good a read on him based on the few works of his I’ve seen.
He’s very much an auteur and the sense i get from watching his films is that he’s thought about every angle and how he wants to portray a scene, i don’t think his films have ever really pandered to audiences. I like to think this film has had minimal studio interference given he’s built up a fair bit of cred over the years so what i’m seeing is every second is a deliberate creative decision. But, i don’t know. 
