Thoughts on Iron Lung (spoilers below):
The lighting was GORGEOUS. even when there's literally only a single sliver of light, it's perfectly cast so that the details needed pop. That combined with the camera work was stunning. Ex., the outline of the camera appearing in the dark which then became a reflection in Simon's eye, the refusal to focus on Simon's face until he was under the surface and therefore out of reach, the view of simon from within the uncaring speaker/machine, the slow peel of tape revealing a whole pile (definition of insanity, etc) followed by the infection replicating the same pattern, the violence of the slash of blood across his eye... I could go on
The costuming was great. I loved how ragged and worn it looked and the question of - is this the clothing given to convicts only? Is this the standard across the board? Especially with how ramshackle the sub is, it implies the failing state of humanity. The textures in the cloth were so grimy ❤️
CGI was MUCH better than I was expecting! Honestly I liked it quite a bit. The most questionable was the blood man, most gorgeous was the blood dimension eye. The camera "pictures" were so grainy and fuzzy & the X-ray reveal was VERY well done imo ("are you SURE it was a skeleton?")
The voice acting was very good as well - the woman who played ava KILLED it. The raw emotion in her voice was powerful
Loved the flashes and hints building up to his co2/radiation poisoning(/questionable infection from the blood?). the single drop of blood landing on his hand, the flash of words of "compounding risk" with camera use, the way you can vaguely hear ava send him back down without care for his oxygen levels, "tell that to the tumors"
I did not understand what the fuck the sub voice was saying at all. Had to lean over to a friend and ask what was being said when it was repeating "hull breach" 😭
I thought the delivery on the line "I just want to live, why does nobody else seem to want that?" was iffy. Just felt audibly put on in a way that the rest of the movie didn't feel to me, especially since I thought pretty much every other line was delivered well
Didn't understand what Simon had seen in the back of the ship to make him go inspect the panel where he found his talisman
I don't enjoy wobbly cam. Not a dig on the movie, it's not like the usage of it was egregious or out of place, I just dislike watching it
Overall: VERY solid movie. I genuinely would love a hardcopy, especially if it came with subtitles.
