Suburbicon is a peaceful,
idyllic, suburban community with affordable homes and manicured lawns -- the
perfect place to raise a family, and in the summer of 1959, the Lodge family is
doing just that. But the tranquil surface masks a disturbing reality, as
husband and father Gardner Lodge must navigate the town's dark
underbelly of betrayal, deceit and violence.
Release Date: Oct 27, 2017
Cast: Matt Damon, Julianne Moore, Oscar Isaac, Glenn Fleshler, Michael Cohen
Rated R for violence, language and some sexuality
Runtime: 1 hr. 44 min.
Genres: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Review:
Suburbicon is an odd hodgepodge
of a film from director George Clooney.
It’s a film that has multiple things going on but they never mesh into a
coherent story thread. The film’s script
was a reworked from the Coen’s brother’s original draft and the film does seem
to be at war with itself for the better part of its runtime. On one hand you have the Matt Damon lead
murder mystery which feels very much like a Coen’s creation with its high body
count and black comedy seeping from its veins.
On the other hand there’s a thoroughly uncooked subplot about a black
family dealing with increasingly hostile neighbors. The entire subplot feels incredibly
underdeveloped even though I think it’s a well intentioned effort to give the
film some added weight and depth. The
issue is that the characters on display are never developed with barely a few
lines of dialogue thrown their way. Both
these plots don’t really mesh well as the tone changes abruptly in a moments
notice. Oscar Issac is the most
interesting thing in the whole film but sadly he comes and goes way too
soon. Suburbicon feels like it should be
a much better film than it actually is.
Sadly, it just never jells into an enjoyable whole.
C+
