A new director is born.Whether he will continue adding his private issues just like this first feature is unknown but I gotta admit: Elephant is a masterpiece and this is the catapult sequel.Gripping yet student-like somehow...
I really wanted to like this film. I really did. The topic of suicide is not one to be taken lightly and I had high hopes that this film would present us with people we could grow to care about. And it did not.
That's not to say I didn't care for anyone in this or that I can't understand why someone would want to kill themself. I've been there, who among us hasn't? But the key to a film about someone contemplating suicide is the audience's empathy with the characters. Whether it's the person about to kill themself or the people who must shoulder the fallout from that decision, we cannot have a one dimensional character throughout the movie and open our hearts to them. So who does this film offer? - a football player who believes the solution to his sexual orientation problem is to beat up people - a drug addict, who LOOKS like your stereotypical drug addict (way to be subtle there, Murali K. Thalluri). I find it hard to like drug addicted characters, regardless of other traits. In comedies it works well but in serious films it's difficult. Candy didn't wow me over (though Abbie Cornish was the lead so no surprises there. It's like she chooses annoying characters on purpose) but I am hoping Half Nelson will make me see things differently. - a boy who rapes his sister... I will make this clear now, I cannot sympathise with a rapist. End of discussion.
To be honest, I actually expected all the kids to commit suicide, not like a murder-suicide pact but as a statement that no matter how different they are, they all bleed the same and they all feel emotions. We come from many places but we all feel. And if that indeed were the ending, I would have given this higher marks. So when it does reach the end of the movie, who is it that decides to end their life? The character least focused on. Now I know at this point, you could say "Well, that was the point, she was virtually a background character so it makes more sense." No it doesn't. We are given no motivation on her part, we know little of her problems. So for all we can assume, she might just be starved for attention, be it good or bad. She might be making a mountain out of a molehill as some teens are oft to do. Like I said at the beginning, suicide is not to be taken lightly. How do we know she hasn't? It's not to say her problems AREN'T important, but how are we to know? How can we be expected to care for her final fate if the movie doesn't give us anything to go on? That may be the intention of the film, and if so, it's the wrong way to do it.
You can say I've missed the point. I say the movie decides to give me characters I have no regard for because some of them are despicible and some of them make stupid choices. I do not point and laugh at people who choose to take the hard choice of removal of their own life. I've been down a dark road more than once and I can understand the thoughts some people would be thinking at that time. I'm fortunate enough not to have lost anyone to suicide. What bearing does this have on the movie? It's my means of saying this movie should have been an epiphany. Instead, it angers me. All that potential wasted.
Film plot deals with teenage problems, however not quite everyday problems of typical teenager. Brought up issues are food for thought and forcing to think about resemblances of main characters with us or someone which we knew at school. Alienation, psychological harassing, an indifference, dealing with sexual identity are ones of many problems brought up in the film which teenagers are facing everyday worldwide. Very strong film.
A raw, moving but depressing Aussie teen-drama that begins with an unseen teen committing suicide, than we flashback to the beginning of the day in a high school where we follow the lives of a group of very troubled teens who all might have been the person who took his or her life in the beginning. This is a very strong debut for 22 year old (!) writer/producer/director Murali K. Thalluri (who was only 19 when he started it!) that has expeptionally well-written screenplay and his direction is beautifully done. The entire ensemble cast of teen actors all give extraordinary performances (Teresa Palmer and Joel Mackenzie being the stand outs). While its look and style will definitely draw comparisons to Gus Van Sant's "Elephant" (long tracking shots, going back-and-fourth between the character's point of view etc.) but unlike that film this one has a story and puts the characters front and centre instead at a distance. The suicide scene is hard to watch and it is one disturbing scenes I have seen in while. The film does have it's flaws but it is a really great film that should be seen.
Awesome little Aussie film. Love how all the stories are interrelated and the camera work is fantastic. Some real gruesome and gory bits even though its not a horror film. That South Aussie chick, Teresa Palmer is hot, she looks like a younger version of Heather Graham.
Definitely the best Australian film i've seen in ages. While it was quite disturbing at times, the acting was brilliant & it kept you guessing right til the end.
this was an amazing film! it successfully dealt with everyday teen issues and the way it was shot with overlapping teen sequences was really well done. the ending was a big twist, and was extremely sad and moving. i definitly recommend this movie.
Generally pretty good, just kinda underdeveloped all around. I hate when endings are spelled out, but this was a bit toooo open ended. If all else failed, the deleted funeral scene would have been a reasonable addition.
While this film came out about a year ago I have only just had the pleasure of actually watching it; and I am glad I waited. This film is gripping, intense and utterly overwhelming. The most I've cried in film!
2:37 centres around six high school students whose lives are interwoven with situations that many teenagers are faced with today. One is suffereing from bulimia, another is dealing with incest, a boy is contanstly bullied for things he has no control over, the high school jock is a closeted homosexual, an outsider turns to drugs to ease his pain and a straight A student tries depsertately to please his father.
The story starts off with the apparent suicide of one student at the school (at 2:37) and uses flashbacks to show the audience the events that led to that point in time. Each student has a gripping tale to tell and with the aid of black and white interview style techniques used, we see what they are like one on one.
The cameras techniques used are very reminiscent of Gus Van Sant's Elephant, but 2:37 still manages to feel different. I am a huge horror fan so violence shown in cinema usually does not affect me but the suicide scene in 2:37 had such a profound impact. The sadness of this character and their struggle, moved me to tears and took me awhile to stop crying.
2:37 was directed Murali K Thalluri and shot entirely in Adelaide (my hometown) so it was quite exciting to see such familiar streets and places shown in a movie.
I definitely recommend everyone see this film but be warned; the suicide scene is quite graphic and may be too overwheleming for some people.
The greatest debut film of any filmmaker, let alone an australian! This is an intense film but a powerful! Not for the faint hearted, never a film has captured the horrors of high school like this, it deals with really hard issues!!!
In the middle of watching it right now . . . very different. Not sure whether to like it or not, currently Sarah is showing us that she can not, in fact, fake cry. A bit predictable, but I like the whole shifting of P.O.V., and the style is pretty interesting, although the makeup artists went a little overboard. So, to conclude, I shall quote the line that comes up every three seconds in this movie: "Fuck".
An indie film that I'm guessing not a lot of people will have heard of. It is extremely hard to describe, but I'll do my best.
This film revolves around the lives of six high school students, who are seriously fucked up, on a day, when at 2:37 PM, someone they are all connected to will kill themselves. The cast is great, the girls are cute, there is a lot to love in this movie, but at the same time, you will hate it. It's one of the most real visions of people that I have seen in a movie in a long time, the people act and look like real people, simply hiding what troubles them inside. Definatley do not watch it with your parents, as it does contain SUPER graphic stuff, masterbation, rape, and such.
It's also one of the few movies where I have cried at the end, you really do not suspect the one that does kill themselves.
Seriously though, this is hands down the most disturbing movie I have ever seen, these kids are fucked up, they seem so real that it is ok.
Also, not for the squeamish, not whatsoever. Contains the most brutal rape scene I've ever seen (possibly also the only rape scene besides evil dead), and it contains an ultra realistic suicide scene that made me want to puke. It seriously looks like you are watching this person die.
It was the director's first movie, and it was a good one, check it out, but be prepared.
the whole time I was watching this film all i could see was "elephant- gus van sant". It took me awhile to put that aside and focus on each charators develpoment. It was a little predictable. within the first 5 mins I figured out that mel was pregnant, and the footballer was the potheads gay lover. But even still it had that interconectivity I loved about elephant, and the kelly charactor was overshadowed by people personal lives. I loved how they never gave a reason, they didn't have to. Kelly was eveyone of them and they all died that day becuase of it
I think the director was influenced by "Elephant" while making this film. Although the idea is different. It still has the same aspect of high school students with the geek, outcasts and popular ones. But this film evolves more on the problems which a lot of students may have.
I would recommend this film just because it projects a different type of teen film which we do not see much these days besides the ridiculous horny teen movies that some couldnt care less.
I'm lost for words... This film broke my heart, and that's all I can really say. It sounds melodramatic, but this is cinema at its most painfully honest. I could comment on the performances, the screenplay, the direction (all of which are perfect), but when a movie is this powerful you have to look at it as a singular piece of art. This is a complete masterwork, and any teenager who is able to do so is obligated to see it.
Directed by: Murali K. Thalluri.Starring: Teresa Palmer, Frank Sweet, Charles Baird, Clementine Mellor.
"You gotta be tough, otherwise people will stomp you down to the fucking ground, it's a jungle and if you can't fake your way through school, how the fuck are you going to make it in the real world?"
The story follows a group of 6 teenagers over the course of one day at a contemporary school in Australia (similar to any around the world). It all starts at the end of the day, with a suicide of one of these students....but who? What follows is a trip into the lives of each individual and the struggles with their personal demons. Murali K. Thalluri has a gift for cinema. He achieves what so many try to do and that is to grip the audience, but never shy away from the characters, the story and its themes. His screenplay's basic plot and ideas are nothing new, it covers every common problem with teens such as bullying, sex, sexuality, suicide, just to name a few....but he tackles all of them with such unforced power and grittiness, he tackles the themes realistically to the point where you can't help but turn your head away. This skill and depth really grabs an audience like me, out to find something fresh and with a reasonable amount of depth and understanding for its characters, but he also uses small conventional twists to grab the others. He uses a lot of 'Steadicam' style shots with long takes, but he crafts every story together professionally and the brilliant use of editing makes it very compelling, as does the cinematography which is beyond impressive, capturing the right tone in every aspect. What impressed me was the cast. A group of unprofessional, unknown Australians ain't expected to grab an audience on first go (for some), but anyone who thinks that (like I did) is wrong. Each character is given there own powerful story and every actor delivers outstanding performances, drawing the emotional power from the complexities of there characters. I can't just mention one or two names, as the entire cast impresses.
Too many compare this to 'Elephant', all because of similarities in basic plot. 'Elephant' is an art film and a completely different style, 2:37 is different. Murali K. Thalluri is a name to look out for and it excites me that such a young man (22) living so close to home creates such a shocking and powerful debut. One of the very best Australian debuts I have ever seen, sure, we have all been through school in our lives and we know how some of the common problems are and there's nothing new here with its basic themes, but the unknown depth of these themes and how it covers teen angst with such knowledge and power is brilliant. Disturbing and very hard to watch, 2:37 hit a note with me and deserves worldwide recognition.
Um movie Australiano (ena!) Relata-nos os eventos dum dia (quase) normal numa escola. Através de flashes, numa linha temporal inversa, o drama pessoal de seis jovens é revelado. Precisamente às 2:37 um deles decide por termo à vida, mas qual? Pode ser qualquer um... muito" in your face". Murali K. Thalluri (desconhecia), na minha opinião está de parabéns pela direcção deste filme.
MCT:November 18, 2008
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