542: Antlers

[00:00:01] Let's get to Antlers from 2021. It's directed by Scott Cooper, produced by Guillermo del Toro. Stars Jeremy T. Thomas, Jesse Plemons, Kerry Russell, Scott Hayes.

[00:00:20] And the synopsis is, a small town Oregon teacher and her brother, the local sheriff, discover a young student is harboring a dangerous secret that could have frightening consequences.

[00:00:36] This movie I was very curious about. First of all, Scott Cooper as a director. All in all, I wish he was better.

[00:00:46] I feel like he's one of those directors who has an eye, has a style, but he almost never really fully capitalizes on the concept that he has, the cast, the crew, the story.

[00:01:00] It feels like things always kind of fall short of expectations.

[00:01:07] I appreciate that this is a very dark, grim horror film that he's tackling. He hasn't really done a horror film before.

[00:01:17] Guillermo del Toro's presence in the movie really comes through and I think makes the movie what it is in some ways.

[00:01:28] Scott Cooper is someone who generally tackles broken people, and then del Toro handles more, I think, locations or settings that are broken and damaged that need to come together and be rebuilt in some ways.

[00:01:43] So I think they're a good pairing. The look of the movie is fantastic.

[00:01:50] Probably Scott Cooper's best looking film. The location is amazing.

[00:01:57] The cinematography is really, really dark and shadowy, but it's in the best way because it's not the frustrating kind of darkness where you're thinking, OK, what's actually going on?

[00:02:10] Instead, it's the kind of shadowy cinematography that lures you into a certain spot on screen.

[00:02:17] You know, the little bit of light or makes the light very, very striking.

[00:02:23] The score is quite good. I know I say that almost all the time, but a very ominous, eerie score that helps add to that atmosphere.

[00:02:33] Performance wise, Scott Cooper really always gets good performances.

[00:02:39] The main kid.

[00:02:41] You never know how kids are going to be, especially if they're in the lead role, basically as he is.

[00:02:48] And he's able to communicate and portray that inner turmoil, that fear, the paranoia, the confusion at times as to what's going on and how to express himself.

[00:03:01] Like it's a really multifaceted performance for a kid that age.

[00:03:07] Carrie Russell. Love her. She's great in everything.

[00:03:12] Jesse Plemons is someone who is kind of hit and miss for me. I don't love him.

[00:03:16] I appreciate the roles and the variety that he has, but all in all, not a huge fan of his at this point.

[00:03:26] What I appreciate the most about the movie is the commentary, which isn't as explored as it could be.

[00:03:32] But it's definitely still there in terms of the cycle of abuse within, not just within families, but within generations.

[00:03:44] And if you don't stop a certain kind of abuse of trauma that's intentional, that it could be passed on from generation to generation as it is in this with the parents of Carrie Russell and Jesse Plemons.

[00:03:59] And then with the family of the family of the main child, as well as the surrounding world, which everyone in this movie is depressed, addicted to drugs.

[00:04:13] They hate their job, their life, their economy is terrible.

[00:04:19] So it all adds into that.

[00:04:21] One person is upset.

[00:04:22] One person is angry at the system.

[00:04:25] And then they inflict that pain on others.

[00:04:30] The third act isn't terrible, but it mainly just becomes, oh, wow, there really is a monster.

[00:04:36] Oh, no, let's fight it.

[00:04:39] Let's go out in the darkness and try and kill it by ourselves.

[00:04:41] Like, it's really not that elegant of a ending or satisfying ending.

[00:04:47] It's just kind of there.

[00:04:50] You're left with a lot of questions that is more frustrating than anything, not leaving you with questions to ponder.

[00:04:57] When you leave, it's more so, wait, what about this or that?

[00:04:59] It just feels unanswered.

[00:05:03] Nevertheless, though, it's still very emotional, very intimate.

[00:05:11] There's almost no humor in the movie, which is kind of normal with Scott Cooper.

[00:05:17] And actually, one more thing about him.

[00:05:20] I don't mind if a director makes their movies consistently bleak.

[00:05:27] But at the same time, you need to have enough storytelling ability and richness in other ways to make it not just be a drama for the sake of drama, you know, dark for the sake of being dark.

[00:05:45] Even in his best film, which I think is Out of the Furnace, but there's good examples in this movie.

[00:05:52] I see the drama, the good writing, you know, the good performances on screen.

[00:05:58] And I'm thinking, okay, I feel like I should be feeling something more by what's being presented.

[00:06:05] But for whatever reason, I'm just not consistently in Scott Cooper films.

[00:06:10] Some standout scenes, though.

[00:06:15] The very beginning with the father of the young boy who's making meth.

[00:06:21] And there's that darkly beautiful shot of him walking through the mineshaft with the gas mask and the red flare.

[00:06:32] Or when the young boy is walking up the stairs in his house when he has the father captive, which you don't know at the time.

[00:06:39] But he has that yellow headlight.

[00:06:41] And that's the only light you see in the whole scene.

[00:06:47] The flashbacks of abuse to Kerry Russell's family with the father lying naked on the bed.

[00:06:54] And you can only imagine.

[00:06:55] I mean, I think you can infer what happened there.

[00:06:59] But that's effective and feels very real, unfortunately.

[00:07:03] So the look of the father and the boy who are infected, so to speak, and are constantly coming out of the darkness in that room where they're being kept.

[00:07:16] And it's very creepy and unsettling.

[00:07:19] I just wish there was more of that.

[00:07:20] So all in all, you know, if you want a horror film that's a little different, refreshing in some ways, not a jump scare film that's more story based, more character based about the world itself around it, not just.

[00:07:36] I mean, it's a monster movie, but that's really not the main focus or drive, I would say.

[00:07:41] This would be, I think, my second favorite Scott Cooper film so far.

[00:07:48] Black Mass maybe is at that same level, but I think I would put Black Mass below this.

[00:07:55] So that one is a heavy three and a half out of five.

[00:08:24] Black Mass.

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