Stillwater

Amazing performance, Matt Damon Hollywood type  getting onto the role of roughneck. Very touching story well played.  If anything also worth seeing the reality of life in France. Move over Rick Steves Europe. This is France I remember from when I lived there as an illegal immigrant. You do not see that in travel programs.

Stillwater is an interesting character-driven story about a man searching for redemption in Marseilles, France. Matt Damon, being the excellent actor that he is, disappears into his role as a homespun redneck from Oklahoma, and loses all of the trappings of his elite background . I would have liked a deeper dive into Bill's psyche and backstory ( more exposition, please) , but otherwise it is a solid story with a great cast. Recommended.

Do not waste your time. This is a very slow boring movie. I skipped through about 30 minutes bc it just went on and on. Abigail's character is boring and so was her character in the Little Miss Sunshine " movie. Trust me the "thrill" at the end is not worth your loss of 2 hours. I had to Google the ending to see if I missed something....nope...those reviews are about like mine ... boring.

Good story (reminds one of the Knox case in Italy), but the story could have been told in less time. Great acting. As famous as Matt Damon is, all I kept seeing was a roughneck from Oklahoma, and thank goodness Damon did not overdo it. The little girl was superb. The daughter was almost too real. The ending nicely tidied up things.

It is 90 minutes I will never get back. Horrible acting, directing and writing. Other that that.. Proof that Damon can't act.

Are you looking for a touching film about paternal love and overcoming? Look no further, Stillwater delivers on these themes with a strong story about a father desperate to clear his daughter of murder. 📋 Need an executive summary? Here it is: Stillwater is engaging and moving and, despite the slow pace, delivers a strong story about a father's struggle in a foreign country trying to find possible evidence that his daughter says exists, which could prove her innocence on a murder case. Despite the lack of backstory for its main characters, Stillwater is still compelling enough to hold us for a long but powerful 139 minutes. Bill Baker, a former oil-rig professional, struggling with unemployment, travels to Marseille, France, to visit his daughter Allison in prison. She has been incarcerated for 5 years of a 9-year sentence, convicted of the murder of her partner Lina. Here we have perhaps the only slip of this film. Stillwater begins almost in-media res, with Bill heading to Marseille after a brief introduction to his current conditions. The film reveals backstory with dialogue, raising Bill's serious problems with Allison's life which, although it doesn't affect the overall story we watch, could reveal the impact that some scenes should have had. Bill, in general, is already transformed. His arc is almost flat in this film. When we begin to follow his actions throughout the film, we are already following a Bill who undergo change in relation to his disturbed and negligent life as a father and, possibly, husband. The Bill we follow is a nice guy trying to regain control and his sense of life; he moves to Marseille to be closer to Allison, now that her sentence allows visits — at least this was my understanding of why Bill decides to move to France only 5 years after his daughter was sentenced; either that or Bill made his life transformation 5 years after his daughter's arrest. The visit between Bill and Allison is what you would expect out of a visit between a known-to-be-relapsed father and a daughter who haven't seen each other for so long: superficial, although there is a touch of love between the two; certainly on Bill's part. Then, Allison throws the curve ball: "do you know the guy who is the real killer, but the police were never able to find him? I found out he was spotted on a nightclub my friend goes to." Well, this revelation Bill actually discovers with the help of Virginie, who plays an important role in the story. When Allison's lawyer refuses to investigate the complaint, Bill realizes that the only way to save his daughter is to act on his own. Stillwater runs for 139 minutes, a length that may drag depending on your energy level while watching the film. At times, I asked myself when something would happen — I remember my wife commenting: "it's time for something to happen, right?!" In general, I agree that the film can seem boring if you are tired or don't have the energy for a heavy, dense story. However, it doesn't mean that the editing was wrong, just that the film is long. In terms of cinematography and soundtrack, I didn't notice anything that stood out. The views of Marseille are interesting, but the film's visual art isn't focused on creating stunning views; the main care is in the acting and the characters. Matt Damon delivers Bill Baker to us with care and dedication. My feeling was that Matt took care with the role and this care payed off, with Matt delivering to us a great performance of a reformed man, a father trying to do what is right for once in his life. This care also exists in the Direction by Tom McCarthy, most famous for his role as screenwriter and executive producer. Stillwater captivates and exhilarates. If you like slow dramas, Stillwater is a good choice.

The title "Stillwater" gives the game away: Very still, little happens, one man and the sea of strangers in Marseilles. It is the most boring movie I have seen in a very long time!

Finally watched this. (Long story on why it took awhile but will just keep that short). If you do not mind a lot of build up in your movie viewing and with a running time that could have been condensed a bit by say 10 less minutes in the overall running time, this is still a worthy watch. Matt Damon was excellent overall but the slowness at times did drag to just get to some more key points story wise. And wow, (spoiler alert here)...there is pretty much no way a suspect can be visible enough at a football match filled with thousands and thousands of fans! The odds are astronomical to the max! That lost a bit of credibility to me directorial wise. But still worth a watch and I give this a solid 6 out of 10. The actress playing the daughter was a bit hit and miss on her acting believability. (She was more solid in Little Miss Sunshine much much earlier in her acting career)...(Abigail Breslin).

I watched this on DVD recently. I used to like Matt Damon movies, but I'm not keen on this one at all. A lot of it is set in Marseille France, which looks very ordinary on screen, especially in the rough areas. The pace is slow and the story is not exciting. The indoor scenes are poorly lit, and the outdoor scenes are sparse and uninteresting. It's riddled with French accents and dialogue to translate which further disrupts progress. The sound track is monotonous and depressing. I was hoping for so much more, and was very disappointed. Part way through I'm getting restless, hoping it will end soon, but it doesn't. It just goes on and on and I'm bored. I really couldn't find anything to like about this movie. I only paid 35p for the DVD, and I feel short changed. I don't know why anyone would bother to make a movie like this.

I think it’s hilarious when an actor that’s worth $200 million, tries to portray the poor redneck.