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Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Stillwater (2021) in Movies

Aug 10, 2021

Stillwater (2021)

2021 | Crime, Drama

5.5

(4 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Matt Damon - solid central performance (1 more)

Intelligent script

Slightly overlong and plodding in places (0 more)

Life is Brutal

Positives:
- Matt Damon needs to be the rock at the centre of the movie to hold it all together. The movie lives or dies on believing that he could be a God-fearing oil roughneck and all-round fuck-up. And he does a really good job here in doing that.
- The script excels in a number of ways:
-- it's great in building, and in some cases destroying, the relationships between the characters. In particular, the portrayal of the pseudo-family that develops with Bill, Virginie and Maya is very sweet. A lounge scene, without dialogue, with each looking in turn at each other is glorious;
-- the story isn't handed to you on a plate, but your understanding of what's going on evolves as you watch it;
-- a twist in the story (no spoilers) is unexpected and savage, and requires real concentration to understand!

Negatives:
- Although I appreciated the leisurely introduction of the characters and their relationships, the film was a bit flabby in the telling. At nearly 140 minutes, I think its about 20 minutes too long.
- For balance and a different view, the wife was very upset and cross about the treatment of Maya at one point in the movie. (There are clear repercussions though). And she wasn't a fan of Abigail "Little Miss Sunshine" Breslin's performance (although I personally though it was "OK").

Summary Thoughts on "Stillwater": It's billed as a "Thriller" and although it does have it's moments of tension, it's much more a drama reflecting a flawed father trying to make amends for his failures in the past. As such it might plod a bit for those looking for more of an action-oriented thriller. But I found it thoroughly absorbing overall, and a marked improvement on "Spotlight" by the same director (which seemed to garner praise and Oscar nods from everyone other than me!).

A curiosity for me is the rating for this one.... a "15" certificate in the UK for "Strong Language". I'd assumed that the "15" rating was due to the racist dialogue, present in one particular brief scene. But that seems to be a secondary concern to the BBFC (see their web site). I'm sure they have word-tally counts. But, to me, there wasn't enough bad language in this one to merit the rating: I personally think it should have been a "12A".

But overall this is a solid piece of movie storytelling, whether controversial or otherwise. And Recommended.

(For the full graphical review please check out One Mann's Movies on the web, Facebook or Tiktok. Thanks).