3/24/20 - Braid (2018) - 4+/10

Such an odd film. All of these characters are so eccentric. In fact, this film is so eccentric. The shifting to black and white, the trippy over-emphasized pastel drug coloring, the drastic aesthetic; it’s all a little much. Especially when paired with the completely unrelatable plot. You are Alice tumbling down the hole into an obtuse smorgasbord of oddity and ostentatiousness. 

I know it is meant to be outlandish and “crazy”, but it loses its way in whatever insane machinations it is meant to perform in. There is way too much “What is going on? What does any of this mean? Is there a point?” ongoing during the viewing. 

Contracting madness? It’s like the relationship between Joker and Harley Quinn; a dynamic that doesn’t really work on so many levels. What is the tale of this mass psychosis? Is it shame? Is it a twist? Is anyone “sane”? Is it simply nonsensical? 

Unreliable movie, tripling down on the unreliable narrative. Supposed to be cinematic poetry: art beyond categorization or the need for distinct understanding. I appreciate that. I empathize with that. I even embrace it, to a point. But still...what? This one had a fun point of view, but I don’t think that was enough to make it work in general.

This feels like a love or hate, and I was closer to the later. Nonsensical and surreal does not mean pointless. This wasn’t hopeless or without merit, but I was more lost than found.