It's a combination of "Fringe", "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", "The Butterfly Effect", "Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind" and "The Fountain"... on acid. Well, if you've ever seen those films, I suppose that acid… More
It's a combination of "Fringe", "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", "The Butterfly Effect", "Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind" and "The Fountain"... on acid. Well, if you've ever seen those films, I suppose that acid statement goes without saying. Actually, I think a better comparison is just "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", or at least one scene. If anyone remembers that scene where Benjamin was describing all of the events preceeding a car collison, then started all the way over to talk about what could have happened differently, in the immortal words of Cyrus of Spill, "this is that, 'The Movie'." Man, even if you haven't seen "Benjamin Button" (You're crazy), there's a much more likely chance that you know about that scene than this film, because - ready for a bombshell - ...this is probably Jared Leto's most obscure film ever and - struttin' Sam Rockwell! - that's saying a lot. However, as irony would have it, on top of being the most obscure film starring Jared Leto, this is among the best yet, which isn't really saying too much, but still something to say, nevertheless. Still, when I say that nobody has a flawless film, I didn't actually mean that "Nobody" has a flawless film, because this is most certainly no exception to that rule.
I have to give both respect and criticism for this film's method of recounting Nemo Nobody's lives. It's an almost surrealistic compilation of every version of his life, each with its own significant hint that it is reality, leaving you totally incapable of figuring out which universe is reality. Now, it's not like director Jaco Van Dormael doesn't exectute this technique well, because he does. The problem is that the storytelling technique is so overwhelming, complex and dwelled upon for long periods of the film, and after a while, you're just exhausted and were it not for the excellent style, you would fall in and out of the film frequently. Perhaps the reason why we don't do that after a while, in spite of the captivating style, is because we do eventually take breaks, but that, in it of itself is a bit of a problem, because the film slows down, never to a crawl, but enough to where you'll find yourself a bit bored, and when you're doing that for over two hours, or two-and-a-half in the case of the extended cut, it would become overwhelming for any lesser film. I've recently happened across many examples of what I call the "Experience Genre", where we surrealistically make an intimate study on the life of a character, and even with this being the best that I've seen of that genre recently, that character study technique is still too overwhelming to handle and takes much from a project that could have been much more if it was more straightfoward, because these are stories and it's rare when a nonlinear narrative works over that. I kept imagining what these stories would have been like if they were more straightfoward and that is exactly what keeps this film from being solid, but in spite of that, even though they were kind of like back-handed complement, I meant it when I said that these techniques would have been too overwhelming in a lesser film and that this is one of the best experience films out there.
I wish Jaco Van Dormael would have taken this film in a different direction, but like I said earlier, it's not like he botched his technique, because although his directing abilities are too good for a film of this type, he's still what makes this better than most experience films. A big problem with experience films is that they're too immersive and instead of looking at events and characters as part of the story, you're looking at them as simply vessels to move the story along, leaving emotional resonance to die on its feet. However, here, Dormael works around that, pulling back just enough for us to attach ourselves to what's going on, while still pushing us deep enough into this environment to feel the artistic value that went into this. I am personally in love with the soundtrack, which isn't terribly prominent, but when it is available, it alone makes the film electric, because there's so much life pumped into those few golden scenes by the extremely diverse soundtrack, which will have you kicking back to Pixies' "Where is My Mind" or even being hypnotised by one of my favorite score composions, Hans Zimmer's "God Yu Tekkem Laef Blong Mi" from "The Thin Red Line". Go ahead, I dare you to read that out loud with your tongue still inact. Still, what keeps the film going when it's not blasting some awesome tunes is the excellent production value that boasts elaborate production designs, great visual effects, beautiful cinematography and even slick sound design that helps power the surrealism and mediative tone of the film. Of course, although the technical value is excellent and helps in keeping the film going, it doesn't do as good a job at carrying the film as the performances, which are really top-notch.
Jared Leto is kind of in and out of the acting industry now-a-days, but that doesn't keep him from being among today's finest performers. Still, although this is his film, I wish that they did more with him, for we focus probably a little too much on Toby Regbo and Thomas Byrne as young Nemo Nobody's, but then again, that doesn't mean that they don't bring enough game for you to not mind Leto's absence. Between the two young Nemo's, Regbo is more impressive as the teenaged Nemo, as he manages to sharply convey teenaged... "struggles" (or whatever these stupid kids are calling "real" problems) in a believable and compelling fashion, allowing him to carry his portion of the film, and let me tell you, he gets a huge chunk of the story. Of course, this is the ladies' show too and both they and their young counterparts carry their own weight. Still, it's the big girls that are given more to do, and they nail it, whether when they're dealing with love being reborn - in the case of the stunning Diane Kruger -, love falling apart - in the case of Linh Dan Pham -, or they, themselves falling apart - in the case of Sarah Polley -. Still, when you get down to it, this is really all about Jared Leto and although he could have been focused upon more, it should come as no surprise that he gives the best performance of the film. Leto's always been good at playing layers, but here, he's playing almost entirely different people - a man bored with his fortune, a man searching for true love, a man caught in the middle of his love's crisis situation and even an old man on his last leg, looking back at life and wondering about his accomplishments - and each role presents a painful challenge, - from accents, to subtle emotion, to acting his old age - every one of which he passes with flying colors, making his comeback - brief though, it may be - a satisfying one that shows us that he's still that dazzling talent that he was, if not more so, and every time he occupies the screen, he ties everything together and makes this film seem satisfying, regardless of the potential it squanders.
When the story ends, then the other story ends, then the other story end and then the other ends, you're left looking back at this experience film, feeling as though it could have been much more if it was to realize its potential as a more linnear storyline, but outside of that, you'll still find yourself rather satisfied by the dazzling technical value and lively direction and performances that carry the emotional resonance that make "Mr. Nobody" not just one your better experience films, but a generally enjoyable work of art by its own right.
3/5 - Good
