I have never been to a movie when immediately after the movie all of the people in the audience come together and connect by saying "what the hell did we just watch" and all feel that the movie made absolutely no sense and in the bad way. Suburbicon was strange, in the boring bad way, not in the cool or funny way. I didn't realize it was suppose to be a comedy until one of my fellow audience members said that it was not the comedy that he was expecting it to be. Thinking about it I can see that it was going for being a dark comedy, but the comedy did not come through and the movie was bad and overall boring. If I wasn't trying to understand how everything came together, it would have been completely forgettable.
Suburbicon is new Coen brother's movie and I really need to start paying attention to who is making the movies I am watching and not just deciding to go see them based on teaser trailers. I try to not watch too many trailers or final trailers as it annoys me to see third act clips which can spoil the storyline, but I may have chosen to see another one of the movies that I am interested in right now if I realized it was a Coen brothers movie. Anyway to the plot. Suburbicon is set in a sort of Stepford Wives world where this area is suppose to be wholesome and a great place to live. It starts by the town getting upset that the first African American family, the Mayers, has moved in and a sub story is the escalating hate that this family receives. It then focuses on Gardner Lodge's, played by Matt Damon, family. Gardner owes money to the mob and his wife Rose is killed. His sister in law Margaret, played by Julianne Moore (she also plays Rose) has been helping out the family and takes over the role of mother to Gardner's son Nicky, played by Noah Jupe, and everyone has to deal with how the family is affected by everyone's actions and the situation they are now in. Although the movie is chronological it feels like it jumps around a lot and there is no real back story or lead in to the different characters, they are just there and you as an audience member have to figure out who they are and how they fit into what is going on. Some characters are there and it feels like they will become part of what is going on and that the movie is hinting at something that will be tied together but then nope.
Going into this movie I thought it would be more focused on Matt Damon's character, but it seems to equally focus on Gardner, Margaret, and Nicky, but slightly more on Nicky. It also jumps to the Mayers family and the hate they are experiencing in this neiborhood. Nicky has some interactions with Andy, played by Tony Espinosa, the Mayers' son as they are neighbors. It is really hard to describe what is happening because their isn't a main focus or a true story. It feels like part of a story, without motivation, lead up, or resolution that leaves you feeling satisfied in any way.
There is no real development of any of the characters and the lack of any real plot or motivation of anyone really leads to a movie that doesn't really have anything going for it. I was bored throught the majority of the movie and was just waiting for somehtig to happen to draw me in. The only really enjoyable part was the insurance claims investigator, played by Oscar Isaac, and he was only in the movie for a few moments. This movie didn't really seem to know what it was going for but it was trying really hard to do something. I wish a specific person or a few people were focused on and that there was an emphasis on what was happening to or around the person and their motivations/ dealing with it. There were a few moments of this but since nothing seemed to connect with each other, the movie didn't deliver. If the shift was more of Nicky it would have been better, or given background into any of the main characters. Hell, even focusing more on the mob guys would have worked.
It seemed as if the main emphasis on this movie was style not substance. The actors are good and you can tell that they are giving it their all, so for me it seemed more like directorial choices and decisions the failed. There is a high production value in this movie and the town/ environment is rich in details and I could tell lots of effort and time was spent on it. The cinematography and staging was good, and in the style of the Coen brother. I just wish their was more of a story to follow or a some sort of journey/ real resolution for any of the characters. As I said there were glypse of what could be and moments with some of the characters (Mitch, played by Gary Balarama, Nicky's uncle was also one of the more interesting characters). It might just be a type of movie that I don't connect with and I just don't understand the true target audience. If you enjoyed it, let me know what was good about it?
Basically no reason to go see this movie, as it doesn't make sense and was very strange. Where this can be done in a fun and great way, this movie was pretty bland for what the set up is, and bored me. I wouldn't even recommend watching it when it comes out on video. I would only reccomendd it to people who see and enjoy every Coen brothers movie.
My Rating: 1-
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