The Square

Dir: Nash Edgerton - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Claire van der Boom, David Roberts, Anthony Hayes, Joel Edgerton
Australia, 2010

Seen: April 16, 2010

Reason to see: Currently loving Aussie thrillers

I'm always up for a thriller, even though I've never been a huge fan of mystery-types I wonder now if it's just because there is not enough good ones out there. Then we get The Square, which knocked even my pretty high expectations out of the freaking ballpark on all levels: amazing story, brilliant characters, chilling tension and fantastic performances.

The story line starts with the premise of regular folk tangling in committing a crime, and from there themes out to not only the how to's but also the who to's: who gets involved and various dynamics and conflicts that can create. Fascinating. It certainly kept me guessing and it was also very gutsy with it's choices. One of the things that I appreciated so much about the film was that it set itself in the land of reality and kept itself there. People who actually had reactions to horrible things, still had you know.. humanity in there. Empathy. Horror. Instead of stripping it down to only self-preservation, we actually see an actual array of emotions. Thank you!

The story itself is brilliant, but as it's a thriller/mystery I'm not going to reveal anymore than that because it's worth letting it unfold for you while watching. What I really took away from the film was the subtle depth of the characters. Often in mysteries we know we won't get the whole story at once, that's part of the whole 'mystery' thing, but in The Square there are many beautiful mysteries within the characters. Some of these mysteries are never explained, but they never feel confusing or like it's an inconsistency. It's like getting to know a real person, the depth of the relationship grows over time but you may never know or understand everything about them, yet they are still complete and whole. It's absolutely brilliant.

It's refreshing to see such a well-developed film, and one that sets the bar that much higher. I highly recommend checking it out.

Shannon's Overall View:
I loved it
I'll buy it
I'd recommend if you like thrillers, crime dramas & for anyone that enjoys an excellent story, characters & acting

9 minutes of preshow including 2 commercials and 4 previews: The Trotsky, I Love You Philip Morris, Harry Brown & Exit Through the Gift Shop

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© Shannon Ridler, 2010