| C- | Other Worlds 2021 |
I liked the vision the director had for this film and the style of the images I saw on the screen. And I liked the acting, especially of Heida Reed who played the A.I. (At the Q&A the director said the actress she originally wanted for the role had to back out so Reed was almost a last-minute replacement, but she thinks she liked what she got from Reed more than what she would have gotten from the original actress.)
But overall I was severely disappointed while watching this movie. A lot of that I blame on the script, though you might think the director would catch some of the problems and work with the writer on them. It’s possible they were going more for emotion and mood, but that did not grab me. There were a lot of loose plot points, a lot of details that didn’t fit together properly that I feel like you were just supposed to suspend your disbelief about. One of the huge reveals at the end I saw coming a mile away, but also the details about that and how it fit in with everything else felt really strained and did not make sense to me. I don’t recommend this film.
But I’m often at odds with other people about these movies. There were several audience members at the Q&A that gushed about it. So there is some audience for it out there, despite what I say.
On the other hand, the Q&A informed us that the director intended the very ending to be a little “open to interpretation.” Which I’ll say again is, in my opinion, a huge cop out that too many directors employ. If you have a story to tell us, tell us the whole story. Don’t tell us one story, then imply maybe it was something else, but maybe it wasn’t you can decide for yourself… That makes me feel you lack confidence in your story and perhaps in your storytelling skills.
