• It feels like a director swinging out of his shoes for a home run that doesn’t completely land—and that’s not the insult it may sound like—it’s ambitious—but I also think ultimately Guadanino’s 4th best film to date- and he’s not PT Anderson so that’s a letdown after 2017’s brilliant Call Me By Your Name
  • Swinton’s casting in multiple roles here seems a bit gratuitous and flexy—she should be Madame Blanc- great- she’s awesome as it- she’s become a veteran at playing these powerful figures—but it’s a bit distracting to see her in the other two roles
  • It’s about the 1977’s terrorism hijacking act, the Nazis/holocaust, the Soviet union Germany divide—feminism—yeah- there’s a lot here—basically none of with is in the Argento masterpiece original
  • 6 parts with an epilogue clearly marked- I need to see it again to try to put it all together
  • Much longer than Argento’s film, Guadanino goes the other way with coloring (this is drab), and film length (this is like an hour longer) and making the terror about “something” other than atmosphere and filmmaking— doesn’t have the Goblin’s miraculous score either- we do have the debut score from Thom Yorke— it’s very good- different. Guadagnino cares so much about music, a veiled biopic on David Bowie (A Bigger Splash), Sufijan Stevens in Call Me By Your Name
  • With the building set piece I see nods to The Shining– I also see some occultism that nods to Eyes Wide Shut but Guadagnino could use a bit of Kubrick’s perfectionism
  • I definitely feel Aronofsky’s Mother!, Refn’s Neon Demon, and Lars’ Antichrist
  • The tracking shot during the voting scene may be the highlight- excited to check it out again—next would be the surrealism montage- Guadagnino is clearly an artist with an eye
  • Some of the 70’s drab washed out coloring
  • I think Swinton needs to be careful- she’s an incredible actress- an auteur’s actor and an all-time great-but there’s elements here where it seems like she’s always winking at the audience in her performance—like her work with Joon-ho Bong or Wes Anderson—I’d love to see her in a straight drama again or work with like Lynne Ramsay again
  • Again- bold, ambitious but feels like a bit of a miss- like Mother! (which is still in the archives but a disappointment coming from Aronofsky)- there are elements of Being John Malkovich (elderly looking for young vessel’s), Ken Russell’s The Devils (it’s just bat-shit crazy– ’m baffled and proud/encouraged that this film got made) but there are also elements of like Stallone’s Staying Alive disaster with the bad avant-garde theater
  • There’s some feminist unpacking I like- I need to rewatch- “believe women” to the doctor in the beginning
  • Upon first watch it’s just a bad screenplay
  • Recommend