Cert 15
101 mins
BBFC advice: Contains very strong language, strong violence, sex references, injury detail
Gulp. Here's another movie which I have seen described as 'brainy' and now realise why I found it baffling.
For a good chunk of Omer Fast's Remainder I was on message - or at least I thought I was.
Mind you, it wasn't exactly testing - Tom Sturridge's character is walking past a tall building when a metal box flies out of the window and squashes his skull.
Incredibly, he survives and is awarded a giant compensation package but has no memory of what had gone just before the incident.
Complicating matters are the roles of his friends Catherine (Cush Jumbo) and Greg (Ed Speleers) who he fears may have ulterior motives for being nice to him.
So, he sets out, in the most extraordinary way, to try to rekindle his memory. And when I write 'extraordinary', I mean utterly bizarre,
He hires extras to play roles in a mansion where he may have lived previously and then re-enacts particular scenes over and over.
His injury also renders him unable to respond to the emotions of others so when they complain at the tasks they are given, he simply hands over their beefs to his beleaguered but well-paid fixer (Arsher Ali).
Apparently, there is significant depth to what is portrayed in this adaptation of Tom McCarthy's novel but I have to report it passed me by.
I was happy with what seemed to be turning into a dramatic but fairly run-of-the-mill thriller but by the finale of Remainder I was left bemused.
I am all for thought-provoking but rather than swirl around my head, Remainder sailed straight over it.
Reasons to watch: quality performance by Tom Sturridge
Reasons to avoid: becomes submerged by its own mystery
Laughs: none
Jumps: none
Vomit: yes
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 4/10
Star tweet
Calum Neill Can't really recommend Omar Fast's Remainder. Too much Matthew Vaughn, not enough Tom McCarthy.
No comments:
Post a Comment