The film is a journey of a man's journey working through his grief and loneliness, resulting from not only losing his parents at a young age, but also from the scars of growing up gay and being bullied and feeling ostracized for it. Adam lives in an almost empty apartment building in outskirts of London. He is a writer but doesn't write much. When another guy form his building, a much younger man Harry offers his company with drinks and sex, Adam all but pushes him away. Blocked on a screenplay he’s writing about his childhood, Adam takes the train out to the suburbs to visit his old home. Surprisingly he meets his mother and father, but not as in today, but from the time when they were young and before they died in a car crash when Adam was 12. It turns out that not only their premature death is primary cause of his loneliness, but also he is also haunted that he kept his sexuality a secret from his parents. As Adam revisits his parents, they finally have the conversations he always wanted to have with them. He comes out to his parents – his mother is shocked and standoffish at first, while his father’s wry quips conceal his acceptance. These events help Adam to open up to Harry and they have mad passionate sex a few times. Adam convinces Harry to meet his parents, and he sees their shadows and runs away. Adam has one final meal with parents. There, they explain that Adam needs to let them go in order to move on and be happy. As if that goodbye at the diner wasn't devastating enough, Adam heads to Harry's flat after where he discovers Harry's dead body beside the bottle of whiskey he was carrying that first night at Adam's door, when he wasn't allowed in. Harry reappears to Adam wearing the same pink jumper from their very first and possibly the only real encounter he had. But Harry's soul is able to move on because of the love he got from Adam.
This film has a lot of 'ifs'. If Harry was ghost and also the parents, was Adam also a manifestation of some ghost? There is this elongated ketamine scene which blurs lines between reality, imaginary world, souls etc. Which I have to be out, that as much of a film connoisseur I am, I couldn't make much of a head or tail of that scene. Back to the original narrative, I do understand that it wasn't supposed to be a love story, but a man coming to terms with his grief and loneliness eventually hoping to move on. I expected him to find happiness with his lover Harry, but the ending also comes as a jolt, in fact confusing me even more. It is likely that Adam really met Harry only once and that too he rejected his advances, but eventually was able to love his soul. I am not sure. The film is acted brilliantly by everyone. And the direction is beautiful, and don't get me wrong; but I really really wanted to like this film. It has some of very good actors that I appreciate, a director whose work I revere, and almost unanimous praises across the board; but I just found the whole structure of the thing to be so repetitive that it started to become frustrating very quickly. I found it all very dark, depressing and boring. The characters all seemed very depressing and distant. Honestly, I feel bad about writing this review because I have always been proud of the fact that I know how to appreciate a good film, but somehow the characters, the story, the atmosphere, just them all failed to connect. To give credit where credit is either us due, the actors acted well, cinematography was good and sex scenes were sensual; but the too depressing melancholic and confusing tonality of the film eventually did not sit well with me. Maybe a second viewing will give a different experience, but if the film doesn't do it for you in the first time, what's the point. For now, I was disappointed despite the fact that I really really wanted to like the film. (5/10)
Comments
In fact when Is aw Open homer, and even now, I cannot understand why the film is being considered a masterpiece and best direction. I mean it is ok and the acting is great but what is so special about the film and the direction !!
"Anatomy of a fall" was a good film though.