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CILLIAN MURPHY as Martin Kennedy in Retreat (2011) | dir. Carl Tibbets

I’m watching black mirror, just saw the episode “White Bear” and i think i fell in love with her

#tuppence middleton #black mirror #netflix #white bear #carl tibbets

Retreat (Aislados). ¿Creerás en esta crítica o no?

http://dlvr.it/2fZK3S

Thoughts on Retreat

Retreat is a nice little thriller - a bottle-episode if ever there was one that could've gone off the rails so easily, yet largely kept its footing on the narrow path of logic. The characters, troubled husband and wife Kate (Thandie Newton) and Martin (Cillian Murphy) and mysterious, possibly mad rogue soldier Jack (Jamie Bell), are not fleshed out enough to steal the listeners hearts, but are excellently acted (especially the couple) and largely consistent and able to be sympathized with.

While Kate is at first giving off dangerous signs of being a bit too neurotic and unlikable (not Lori of The Walking Dead levels, but a bit irksome), she becomes quite rational after the initial shock, and is humanized. She emerges as a very strong female character, capable of acting on her own even more capably than her husband oftentimes, and that is something I will always admire. Murphy is quietly excellent as always, completely immersing himself into his character. His role is probably the easiest to play in relation to the others - with an actor of Murphy's character, he quite easily nails it.

The most difficult character, though, is Jack - and Jamie Bell exceeds expectations in the role. Despite what his looks might suggest (youthful face and almost comically large ears - note that I'm not judging his appearance it's just not the usual look for a tortured, possibly mad soldier), Bell is able to both pull off the physical prowess, assertive military attitude, and bubbling-below-the-surface madness. As it says in the making-of, Jack is supposed to be very masculine and powerful, and it actually is pulled off rather better than expected. While an another actor may have been better simply by fitting the part better, Bell acts it as well as he can, and it is more than good enough.

Now, with such a close, tight thriller that hinges quite a bit on the ending, it is quite easy to mess up. The plot is a lead-up to the reveal of whether Bell is lying about the disease that has apparently taken the world or not. Here is where something happens that often doesn't - the truth is an actual twist, something different from what's hinted at. While it isn't 100% logical, it works quite well for how different it is, and actually feels earned. Another bonus is that the audience is left in question the whole way. Rather than the quite easy option of making Jack seem crazy the whole time, it lends hints to both his possible honesty and deceit. As soon as you think he must be lying, he does things like check the seals on the windows (while not being watched by the couple) and admit quite believably that his wife was taken by the plague. It leaves the ending in question throughout, yet it all lends itself to the reveal being quite logical. It gets a little too twisty towards the end, but considering the scale the movie was made on, it is quite forgivable. Cliches are avoided rather well - there is a point to show that Martin has asthma early on, for example. The whole "asthma attack/missing inhaler at a key moment" is an overused trap, and it looked like Retreat might succumb to it - but the moment is turned on its head, both for the viewers and a character. It's one of the little things that help push the movie above many of its fellow low-budget indie fare, similar to how the couple waste no time trying to leave when it becomes obvious they should.

There are a few other things worth mentioning. The visuals, while not breath-taking in a Fincher-espue manner throughout, have some admirable moments throughout - the opening and closing shots of open ocean, of solitude, are rather lovely, and one of the final shots of Martin is an excellent summary of the solitude and hopelessness the film conveys to decent success. The music is quite pretty, not quite achieving the levels of the Boyle movies I love so dearly, but noticeable for the right reasons.

Retreat is an excellent movie. A good comparison would be 28 Days Later, though it is not quite on that level (which is quite alright, given who directed that movie) - it's a strong, independent British thriller that takes on a difficult premise to get right. Both have a typically strong, understated performance from Murphy as a lead with a female character that evolves and proves to be perhaps even stronger than any of the others (also, 28 Days has the 9th Doctor [Christopher Eccleston], while Retreat's Jack was originally going to be played by the 10th [David Tennant] - just a fun fact for Doctor Who fans). It takes few missteps while exceeding expectations it in almost all areas. Carl Tibbetts' first directorial effort is a strong one, one that will hopefully lead to a career making movies of similar quality.