Rating: 6.5/10
Genre: Thriller/Mystery
Related films: Pleasantville, Fargo, Parents
By Leanne Harragan
An idyllic community set in the heart of America, the perfect place to live out the American Dream. The Lodge family seem to be doing just that, but the façade soon falls apart and violence and deceit tear apart the town.
Definitely one of the weirdest films I’ve seen this year, it doesn’t quite take the title from ‘Mother!’ but a very close second. There were parts of this film that I really enjoyed but there were lots of bits that just didn’t work unfortunately.
The actors in this film were outstanding and delivered a sublime performance both Matt Damon and Julianne Moore were enticing. Special mention goes to Oscar Isaac who plays slimy insurance investigator Clark Gable; I enjoyed every moment of his screen time. Relative newcomer Noah Jupe playing son Nicky Lodge was also outstanding.
I also really enjoyed the set and costume designers who really brought this 50’s suburb to life. At times I felt like I was watching the pages of Good Housekeeping coming to life.
Personally, one of the highlights of this film was the score that just never-ended. Throughout the film there were very few parts where there was no score in the background. The score created tension, suspense, excitement and even at times it gave the dark film moments of happiness. Alexandre Desplat had truly done his job; it is probably the best scored film I’ve ever seen.
Despite flawless acting, an outstanding score and perfect set/costume designs, it just wasn’t enough to save the plot which completely let the film down. The main plot was completely predictable and some important parts were even given away in the trailer which is always a mistake. That being said (without giving spoilers) there were a few curveballs thrown in and parts that I didn’t see coming, but these parts were often a little bit ridiculous.
There was also a subplot surrounding the Meyers family, a new African American family that had moved into the town and this caused a lot of unrest with the neighbours. The more racism the family experienced the more the Lodge family fell apart and that was the only connection between the two plots. It was like watching two separate films, neither of which were completely developed enough. The Meyers were also blamed for all the weird and tragic events that began to happen when they moved into the town; this highlighted the warped reality beyond the American Dream and how racist people can really be.
I’m sure that director George Clooney was trying to make a bigger statement about racism in America but it just didn’t come through enough. It is also a bit of a disappointment coming from the Coen Brother who have a number of successes already under their belts. If I’m honest this film had all the makings of a big success but was ultimately let down by the plot.
Rating : 6/10
By Rebecca Mannick
Suburbicon was also one of the strangest films I’ve seen this year. I feel like there was a massive social commentary that the director (George Clooney) was trying to create, but I completely missed it. Well, actually, I was aware that this movie wasn’t created to be taken at face value but I was unaware of the real meaning of it. Aside from that, Suburbicon’s storyline was extremely predictable from the start and to be honest - I didn’t really enjoy it a great deal.
I find it hilarious that literally the last 4 films that I’ve seen with Julianne Moore, she has been killed off in them. I won’t tell you what other films they are in which she dies, but its becoming a sort of running joke that Leanne and I have now. I also feel like Matt Damon who plays Gardner Lodge really held this film together. His character seemed interesting and had many complexities but just feel like the lack of character development made it a difficult watch. I can’t help but think that Suburbicon was meant to have a bunch of different meanings and wants the audience to reflect on social issues but it didn’t come off that way. For me - there were no twists or shocks in the screenplay. It was way too predictable all the way through.
The big talking point about Suburbicon was the sub-plot of the Meyes family (who also had no impact in the rest of the plot). They were the only black family in this 1950’s bubble town, in which most of the town then took it upon themselves to ‘protest’ outside their house, eventually escalating to something more. I personally found the scenes pretty distressing, and cannot imagine how this would have actually been to live through. It’s something that people live through still today in 2017, absolutely disgusting and disgraceful - it makes me unbelievably angry. All I took from it was that the madness and warped behaviour was mirrored in the lives of the Lodge’s.
I would not recommend this movie, unless you can draw your own meaning from a simple story.
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