Review Double Feature: The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby:Them (2014) and Nightcrawler (2014) - My first film festival review

(As always, spoiler alert.)

The Atlantic Film Festival has begun. And man was the cinema packed yesterday, there were lines all over the place. Luckily I managed to get in there early enough to be able to see the two films I'm reviewing above. But before I get into that, I kind of have to explain one of them first.

Specifically, I want to talk about why the highlighted word in The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby:Them is in the title. See, this film was originally made as two seperate films in 2013. Instead of Them at the end of the title, you could watch this film about a couple from either just his perspective (Him) or from her perspective (Her) and the titles would've been adjusted accordingly. Them was edited togehter using footage from both Him and Her and was only released this year, hence why I marked it 2014. I also want to mention that I haven't seen Him and Her, so I will reviewing Them based solely on it's own merits. If I do see Him and Her will it alter my thoughts on it? No, I'll think of them as seperate films about the same thing. Each film will work entirely on it's own merits. So that being said, let's get to the reviews.

Now, I will be reviewing Them first, then Nightcrawler. If you want to skip over Them, I'll mark a point where you can stop scrolling and start reading. And as always, summary, pros and cons, final score.

1. The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby:Them

Summary - Our story begins when Eleanor Rigby (Jessica Chastain) seperates from her husband Connor Ludlow (James Mcavoy) after (remember what I said about spoilers) she throws herself off of a bridge because of a life changing incident. Afterwards, Eleanor finds herself wondering what do to with herself, while Connor tries to find how she's doing while also struggling to keep his restaurant afloat. That's all I'm going to say, it's a romantic drama of sorts it doesn't need much more of a plot summary than that.

Pros - James and Jessica are both really solid acting wise, although Jessica does most of the emotional weightlifting of the film to a surprisingly good effect. The film is also paced well, and manages to mix tearjerker moments and the occasional bit of comedy in as well. When you find out the catalyst for the film it'll definitely make you put everything happening into perspective. The film also looks fantastic as well, as there are plenty of great shots in the beginning where they almost run into each other.

Cons - Only one really. I honestly wish we could've seen more of James in the beginning of the film. Most of when we see him alone he's concerned about the restaurant, or he's looking for or asking about Eleanor. Although it does get better as the film goes along, I did find it a bit odd at first. He also barely talks about the catalyst, but I guess he's trying to be the rock of the situation. Also, at a little over two hours it feels a tiny bit long. So it's mostly minor nitpicking I know, but I still have to acknowledge them.

Final Score - 9/10

Had it not been for the minor issues, this would've been perfect. I hate to let a film go by 100% even if it's just minor nitpicks but to me there are movies out there that are flawless so it just misses getting a 10. But, if you love romantic dramas that heavily favor the drama or are a fan of tearjerkers, this one I can easily recommend.

NIGHTCRAWLER REVIEW BEGINS HERE

2. Nightcrawler

Plot Summary - Lou Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a driven, sociopathic, thief, who one night comes across a bad accident on a highway and it's there that he's introduced to the work of Los Angeles freelance crime journalism or "Nightcrawling." Deciding to try and make it in the industry, he hires Rick (Riz Ahmed) as his assistant and heads out into the night. Along the way he starts selling his tapes to Nina (Rene Russo) a local station news director, while trying to outdo his competitor Chris Day (Bill Paxton.)

Pros - Jake is so fantastic in this, he not only steals the show, he's declaring himself king of the mountain. I can't describe his character perfectly, but he's clearly sociopathic and everything he says makes himself sound like one of those guys who goes around making really impressive sales pitches about really shitty jobs. He's smart, manipulative, driven, and he'll do whatever it takes to stay on top. The films plays out and  looks fantastic as well. And this might be my favorite part, the film is basically just another underdog rising to the top stories. Except they replaced the underdog with a sociopathic nutcase, and that changes the context of everything that happens drastically and it is awesome. I was looking around the theatre and I saw people on the edge of their seats. Even the minor characters for the small amount of time most of them had were amazing.

Cons - Cons? What Cons this movie is awesome.

Final Score - 10/10

Go see this movie. It comes out on Halloween, go see it. Seriously. This is a solid movie. And the only 10 for a new movie that I've given a review for (Had a done a review for it Guardians of the Galaxy would've been a 10 also.)

So there we go. A 9 and a 10. Man film festivals have some good stuff playing. In fact I'm seeing another film tonight, but that one is going to be a retro review. Of what? you'll have to wait.

Until next time, I'll see you folks at the movies.