'Mandy' is amazing. Amazing. Amazing. In all honesty, I'm more impressed by it than I was by Paul Thomas Anderson's newest film, because it's so much more original, so experimental and so fearless in its utter, bizarre, grating unusualness. It's not even really fearlessness; Panos simply doesn't seem to hold any awareness of cinematic conventions or formulae. I'd never, ever have dared intertwine tragedy and comedy so closely as he does here.
It's much less important, but I also felt like I was watching Cage's comeback in real time. He's magnificent, and a lengthy shot in a bathroom could easily be the best single shot of his career.
Of course, the one convention the movie does hew to is the revenge genre, and I feel like the encounters in the second half get slightly repetitive, and some of the gore feels just slightly juvenile to me personally. Also the music never quite jumps out and astounds us the way the rest of the movie does. But those are pretty minor complaints. It's one of the most atmospheric movies I've ever seen, and watching it really does feel more like visiting a place than watching scenes unspool.
Cosmatos is absolutely going to be one of the most fascinating film-makers to watch in our era (although, at this rate, it looks like we should probably expect a smaller oeuvre than most). Over and over and over again, I just couldn't believe what I was seeing and hearing had actually just been done.
It's much less important, but I also felt like I was watching Cage's comeback in real time. He's magnificent, and a lengthy shot in a bathroom could easily be the best single shot of his career.
Of course, the one convention the movie does hew to is the revenge genre, and I feel like the encounters in the second half get slightly repetitive, and some of the gore feels just slightly juvenile to me personally. Also the music never quite jumps out and astounds us the way the rest of the movie does. But those are pretty minor complaints. It's one of the most atmospheric movies I've ever seen, and watching it really does feel more like visiting a place than watching scenes unspool.
Cosmatos is absolutely going to be one of the most fascinating film-makers to watch in our era (although, at this rate, it looks like we should probably expect a smaller oeuvre than most). Over and over and over again, I just couldn't believe what I was seeing and hearing had actually just been done.