1950s America is often mythologised as a period both boring and socially cohesive, before things became interesting and decisive in the following decade. And today, there seems to be a entire sub-genre of films interested less in telling the truth than in playing with the myth. 'Suburbicon' is one such movie, a satire of a view of the world that surely no-one takes at face value anymore. The script is by the Coen brothers, and as such, it's a typical black comedy, quite cleverly worked but without much of a heart. For example, racism is a theme, but the film doesn't really feel very angry about racism, more amused with the direct juxtaposition of the very real racism of the period with the idyllic fantasy of suburban life. There's nothing particularly wrong with George Clooney's direction; but no great sense that the film has anything in particular to say.
381 Reviews
Would have been a lot better had the Coens directed it.
Hellmant3 November 2017
'SUBURBICON': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)
The new crime-drama/comedy from director George Clooney, and written by Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Grant Heslov and Clooney (Clooney and Heslov also co-produced the film). It stars Matt Damon as a suburbanite, in a seemingly quiet suburb community, that has to suddenly deal with violent criminals, after his house is broken into by mobster thugs. The movie costars Noah Jupe, Julianne Moore, Glenn Fleshler and Oscar Isaac. It's gotten mixed to negative reviews from critics, and it also underperformed at the Box Office. I enjoyed parts of it, but I do agree that overall the film is a bit of a mess.
The story is set in a quiet small community, that is disrupted when an African American family moves in to their very conservative suburb. Young Nicky Lodge (Jupe) befriends one of his new neighbors, who's about the same age as him, but then he has to deal with criminal thugs breaking into his family's home. Nicky's mother (Moore) is sadly killed, and Nicky doesn't understand why his father (Damon) and aunt (also played by Moore) won't identify the culprits (when the police apprehend them). Things only get more complicated from there, and much more dangerous for Nicky.
The advertisements for this film are extremely misleading, and it's definitely not the movie that I thought I was going to see. Parts of it are well made, and very interesting, and it's also surprisingly dark (especially for a film starring Matt Damon, and directed by George Clooney). I think it would have been a lot better had the Coens directed it though (they're ridiculously better filmmakers than Clooney). As it is, the film tries to blend too many different genres, and social commentary on top of that, and none of it really works. It is a bizarrely interesting movie still (at times) though.
The new crime-drama/comedy from director George Clooney, and written by Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Grant Heslov and Clooney (Clooney and Heslov also co-produced the film). It stars Matt Damon as a suburbanite, in a seemingly quiet suburb community, that has to suddenly deal with violent criminals, after his house is broken into by mobster thugs. The movie costars Noah Jupe, Julianne Moore, Glenn Fleshler and Oscar Isaac. It's gotten mixed to negative reviews from critics, and it also underperformed at the Box Office. I enjoyed parts of it, but I do agree that overall the film is a bit of a mess.
The story is set in a quiet small community, that is disrupted when an African American family moves in to their very conservative suburb. Young Nicky Lodge (Jupe) befriends one of his new neighbors, who's about the same age as him, but then he has to deal with criminal thugs breaking into his family's home. Nicky's mother (Moore) is sadly killed, and Nicky doesn't understand why his father (Damon) and aunt (also played by Moore) won't identify the culprits (when the police apprehend them). Things only get more complicated from there, and much more dangerous for Nicky.
The advertisements for this film are extremely misleading, and it's definitely not the movie that I thought I was going to see. Parts of it are well made, and very interesting, and it's also surprisingly dark (especially for a film starring Matt Damon, and directed by George Clooney). I think it would have been a lot better had the Coens directed it though (they're ridiculously better filmmakers than Clooney). As it is, the film tries to blend too many different genres, and social commentary on top of that, and none of it really works. It is a bizarrely interesting movie still (at times) though.
A Clash Of Too Many Tones
kjproulx25 September 2017
SPOILER: I'm all for unique and different when it comes to filmmaking, but when a unique film doesn't do anything to intrigue its audience, aside from a consistent tone and setting, then it's not really all that impressive in the end. Suburbicon is George Clooney's latest attempt at direction, and I feel pretty much the same about this film as I did about many of his other works. A tone, story, and time period is all set up, but the way each of his films play out have seemed to leave a lot to be desired in my opinion. That is once again the case with Suburbicon, being a little too confident in itself when it came to presenting a powerful story. Here is why I think you could probably skip this one in theatres, but the effort put into it may warrant a rental if you're looking for something new to watch.
Gardner's family is tested when a group of men invade his home, killing his wife and leaving only his son and sister-in-law alive. Falling for his wife's sister and becoming a complete psychotic and uncontrollable man, this film quickly spirals out of control into a farce of random occurrences. Throughout the first act of this film, it seems like it's going to be a satire that won't hold anything back in terms of wackiness, but that's very quickly thrown out the window, compensating with many subplots of murder and conspiracy. I found myself taken out of the film when the tone would shift this often, making for a very off-putting viewing experience.
Throughout the majority of this film, you're asked to accept the horrible things that the main characters are doing, or just connect with Gardner's young boy on an emotional level, but he's not quite present enough in my opinion. Not until the third act do you really fin yourself caring about some of the characters, which was too late for me. This movie tries far too hard to be clever, funny, and surprising, that it just comes off as forced more often than not. You will find yourself along for a ride of random events and you won't really know who to root for.
I may seem to be ripping this film apart for being un even, but for throughout all its flaws, there are actually quite a few great aspects, especially the sequence involving an appearance by Oscar Isaac. There is a lengthy scene when secrets are revealed and characters begin to evolve and Oscar Isaac elevated every moment of this portion of the film. Up until that point, there really weren't any characters to grasp onto, but the environment around them, along with the sets and the score, always helped to make the film feel more authentic than what its screenplay was presenting. This may sound confusing, but that's due to the fact that this is a very confusing watch, and I feel that many people will agree with me on that account.
From being written by Joel and Ethan Coen (who's recent track record hasn't really impressed me recently), to being competently directed by George Clooney, to having racial undertones to help give the film depth, to showcasing some great moments of comedy, Suburbicon just feels like a huge missed opportunity, due to the talent involved. Matt Damon and Julianne Moore deliver solid performances here and the score by Alexandre Desplat is definitely what sucked me into this movie, even throughout the moments that annoyed me. In the end, I feel as though the positives slightly outweigh the negatives, so I can generously give it a pass. This is about as average as you can get in terms of having a clever setting and premise, only to never fully deliver on either front. Suburbicon isn't quite worth seeing in theatres, but it may please hardcore fans of the Coen brother's past work.
Gardner's family is tested when a group of men invade his home, killing his wife and leaving only his son and sister-in-law alive. Falling for his wife's sister and becoming a complete psychotic and uncontrollable man, this film quickly spirals out of control into a farce of random occurrences. Throughout the first act of this film, it seems like it's going to be a satire that won't hold anything back in terms of wackiness, but that's very quickly thrown out the window, compensating with many subplots of murder and conspiracy. I found myself taken out of the film when the tone would shift this often, making for a very off-putting viewing experience.
Throughout the majority of this film, you're asked to accept the horrible things that the main characters are doing, or just connect with Gardner's young boy on an emotional level, but he's not quite present enough in my opinion. Not until the third act do you really fin yourself caring about some of the characters, which was too late for me. This movie tries far too hard to be clever, funny, and surprising, that it just comes off as forced more often than not. You will find yourself along for a ride of random events and you won't really know who to root for.
I may seem to be ripping this film apart for being un even, but for throughout all its flaws, there are actually quite a few great aspects, especially the sequence involving an appearance by Oscar Isaac. There is a lengthy scene when secrets are revealed and characters begin to evolve and Oscar Isaac elevated every moment of this portion of the film. Up until that point, there really weren't any characters to grasp onto, but the environment around them, along with the sets and the score, always helped to make the film feel more authentic than what its screenplay was presenting. This may sound confusing, but that's due to the fact that this is a very confusing watch, and I feel that many people will agree with me on that account.
From being written by Joel and Ethan Coen (who's recent track record hasn't really impressed me recently), to being competently directed by George Clooney, to having racial undertones to help give the film depth, to showcasing some great moments of comedy, Suburbicon just feels like a huge missed opportunity, due to the talent involved. Matt Damon and Julianne Moore deliver solid performances here and the score by Alexandre Desplat is definitely what sucked me into this movie, even throughout the moments that annoyed me. In the end, I feel as though the positives slightly outweigh the negatives, so I can generously give it a pass. This is about as average as you can get in terms of having a clever setting and premise, only to never fully deliver on either front. Suburbicon isn't quite worth seeing in theatres, but it may please hardcore fans of the Coen brother's past work.
an audacious film about conservative white America
CineMuseFilms5 November 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Nothing riles the commentariat more than dashed expectations. With George Clooney at the helm of Suburbicon (2017) many expected something special but instead are using much less charitable words. The almost unanimous condemnation of this film is difficult to fathom. When a movie is so widely panned it means either it is a disaster or that it pricks a collective raw nerve somewhere, for some reason. This movie is not a disaster.
Controversially, the film comprises two apparently unrelated plot lines, part of which is based on a true story. Set in 1950s middle class America, Suburbicon was a peaceful all-white neighbourhood until the African-American Mayers family moved in. The white community objects and the local progress association builds a fence to wall off the newcomers. Community anger escalates until permanent crowds are stationed outside the new family's home, harassing them to the point of violence, television coverage, and police intervention. This background story inter-cuts to a neighbouring family, the Gardners, who are in the middle of a home invasion. Two thugs tie up then chloroform the family, in the process killing Mrs Gardner (Julianne Moore). Soon her twin sister Margaret (also Julianne Moore) moves in to be with widower Lodge Gardner (Matt Damon) and son Nicky (Noah Jupe). It is not long before questions are asked why the loving husband doubled the life insurance on his wife. Mafia connections, an insurance fraud assessor, and a police investigator start lifting the lid of this perfect Suburbicon family. The two separate story lines are narratively linked only by Nicky and the Mayers son becoming baseball friends.
This is a brave way to frame a movie. Either storyline is enough to power an entire movie but running both in parallel appears muddled and narratively diffuse. However, if the viewer's frame of reference is raised to the overarching level of conservative white American values, then both stories are intensified by their contrast with the other. Keeping the Mayers community racism story in the background and the Gardners domestic crime story in the foreground makes the audience complicit in a glaring social injustice. The Mayers are anonymous, passive victims who are barely seen while we see much of the angry white mob who self-righteously claim the right to live in a white America. Although the general trajectory of both stories is predictable, there are enough twists and turns to keep the tension rising until the film's finale. Across both stories, there is little subtlety or nuance, and the heavy-handed and obvious symbolism is the film's greatest fault. But for Hollywood cinema, that is not a hanging offence.
This dark comedic drama is engaging and entertaining. It captures the tones, fashions, and décor of the era, and the acting relies on stereotypes rather than character development. None of the characters compel emotional investment, so the space is left open for the action to do the talking. Filming coincided with the 2016 American election and Clooney likes his films to make political statements. Calling this one a failure is rhetorical hyperbole. It is an audacious and innovative approach to telling a bigger story that just won't go away.
Controversially, the film comprises two apparently unrelated plot lines, part of which is based on a true story. Set in 1950s middle class America, Suburbicon was a peaceful all-white neighbourhood until the African-American Mayers family moved in. The white community objects and the local progress association builds a fence to wall off the newcomers. Community anger escalates until permanent crowds are stationed outside the new family's home, harassing them to the point of violence, television coverage, and police intervention. This background story inter-cuts to a neighbouring family, the Gardners, who are in the middle of a home invasion. Two thugs tie up then chloroform the family, in the process killing Mrs Gardner (Julianne Moore). Soon her twin sister Margaret (also Julianne Moore) moves in to be with widower Lodge Gardner (Matt Damon) and son Nicky (Noah Jupe). It is not long before questions are asked why the loving husband doubled the life insurance on his wife. Mafia connections, an insurance fraud assessor, and a police investigator start lifting the lid of this perfect Suburbicon family. The two separate story lines are narratively linked only by Nicky and the Mayers son becoming baseball friends.
This is a brave way to frame a movie. Either storyline is enough to power an entire movie but running both in parallel appears muddled and narratively diffuse. However, if the viewer's frame of reference is raised to the overarching level of conservative white American values, then both stories are intensified by their contrast with the other. Keeping the Mayers community racism story in the background and the Gardners domestic crime story in the foreground makes the audience complicit in a glaring social injustice. The Mayers are anonymous, passive victims who are barely seen while we see much of the angry white mob who self-righteously claim the right to live in a white America. Although the general trajectory of both stories is predictable, there are enough twists and turns to keep the tension rising until the film's finale. Across both stories, there is little subtlety or nuance, and the heavy-handed and obvious symbolism is the film's greatest fault. But for Hollywood cinema, that is not a hanging offence.
This dark comedic drama is engaging and entertaining. It captures the tones, fashions, and décor of the era, and the acting relies on stereotypes rather than character development. None of the characters compel emotional investment, so the space is left open for the action to do the talking. Filming coincided with the 2016 American election and Clooney likes his films to make political statements. Calling this one a failure is rhetorical hyperbole. It is an audacious and innovative approach to telling a bigger story that just won't go away.
Quite good
fil-nik0921 March 2018
I was postponing watching this film several times because of the low note here - currently at 5.5
However, I would give this film a rating 7 as I think it was interesting and entertaining from the beginning til the end. Beginning with two Juliennes was kinda funny. I think it was really clever to not know from the beginning what has happened at the dinner/night scene. I admit it got me curious and not many films make me think anything.
The whole black family thing ...well, I am from Europe, so we do not have those 'tensions' which also are showing in comments of people here - so I will not say anything particular about it - only that it did not serve a big purpose in the film in my opinion.
For me, the film is quite good.
However, I would give this film a rating 7 as I think it was interesting and entertaining from the beginning til the end. Beginning with two Juliennes was kinda funny. I think it was really clever to not know from the beginning what has happened at the dinner/night scene. I admit it got me curious and not many films make me think anything.
The whole black family thing ...well, I am from Europe, so we do not have those 'tensions' which also are showing in comments of people here - so I will not say anything particular about it - only that it did not serve a big purpose in the film in my opinion.
For me, the film is quite good.
Wait...What?
matthewssilverhammer3 November 2017
Suburbicon is weird. Like, really weird. And not in a good way. Like drinking coffee out of a beer can that's also spiked with orange juice. And man, is it trying its darndest to make something unique and intentional. Unfortunately, I don't know if I've ever seen a movie swing so hard and end up whiffing even harder. Suburbicon is not just weird; it's also just plain bad. To describe it would be an act of futility. It's sort of about a family dealing with death. It's sort of about racism. It's sort of a mafia comedy. It's sort of a satire of the American dream. It's sort of a familial thriller. It has some great production design, and Oscar Isaac is a blast in his short screen time. Otherwise, it's one of the most obnoxious critiques of the dark suburban underbelly I've ever seen. I have no idea how someone is supposed to plug into this movie. Predictable when trying to be sneaky, dull when trying to be exciting, awkward when trying to be funny; it gives us no character to latch onto, no story to intrigue us, no humor to overcome its darkness, and no clarity or focus to its themes. Honestly, Mr. Clooney, what is this movie? Is it a quirky comedy? Is it a dark thriller? Is it a corny message on love, or a cynical study of American justice? Whatever it is, I'll tell you what it isn't: a movie worth watching.
nowhere near as bad as you may have heard, but not without problems
Quinoa19848 November 2017
Let's get some buts out of the way: Suburbicon is a bit of a Frankenstein's monster of a comic, sincere, horror, revenge-noir-dark insert-word-here sorta racial satire, but it's not as monstrous as one might expect given the reviews. This is clearly the work of two sets of creative teams - Joel and Ethan Coen, and then George Clooney and Grant Heslov - but it's not so stark a difference as to make the Coen's contribution seem so diminutive (as was the case with Unbroken, which still puzzles me how they got a credit on it). What works in the film most feels the most Coens-y, but at the same time we live in a world now where three seasons of Fargo the TV series exist (though with the Coens as exec producers, it's really the brain-child of Noah Hawley) which, while not perfect, delves into that same distinct world of wretched people mixed with some good people in shady-horrible crimes and moral uncertainty. In short, I'm not surprised this didn't do well.
I think part of the problem for me goes to the premise, since it's established but seems a bit unclear: there's this Pleasantville-ish(?) town called Suburbicon in the 1950's (I should think it's after Rosa Parks but I'm also not sure how much actual history goes into play here), where people from all across the country - yes, including Mississippi, though an accent can't be found - and it's as white as the driven snow. So, naturally, when the one black family moves in to town, they make Rock Ridge in Blazing Saddles look rather pleasant and corn-pone. No, somehow many, many white people spend every day/night outside this black family's house and act like there's the second coming of Lucifer (because, you know, there's those things like miscegenation and mixing of the races). Meanwhile, there's an inconsistency early on (not major, but it's there) when little Nicky's mother (or Aunt, they kinda look the same, y'know) tells him to go play catch with the new black boy just across the way since, well, shouldn't that be the last thing she tells him and he finds the boy his own way?
But nevermind - this is where the movie doesn't work, but I get the intention of it, of course I do, since the signs are as bright as Batman's light through your window. Right now the racial tensions in America are exploding again, and I'm sure there's still plenty to mine for satirical purposes (lord knows we got a great dose of it earlier this year with Get Out). But the black family, except for the little boy who, uh, finds a small snake (symbol!) and is pleasant enough, don't have any character to them, and everything with this is presented as metaphor.
It doesn't jibe with the rest of the film, which is dark and comic but still presented as realistic and with characters who are drawn to such a point as we know the Coens are terrific at. Why not make them actual people instead of stand-ins in an allegory? If you strip away the crime plot on its own, it could work much better with some writing - or, better yet, not have the conceit of this town in the first place, which is meant to also have the air of fantasy but... what's the context? *Where* in America *is* this? Pleasantville didn't need to address that, but Suburbicon does (and, to be fair, that may be on the Coens too).
On to the main story, where Damon and Moore (and Moore - again, Fargo just sort of did this last season, but I digress) and son one night get a home invasion, they're chloroformed, and the mother dies. Tragic, and it leads into what one might suspect is coming: Damon and (sister/living, Rose) Moore are scheming to get life insurance money and as for Nicky, well, he might have to be rid of too in some way. The framing at least is right, Clooney knows that much, and since it's primarily from the kid's point of view this works well. I like the Coens dark view of the world, and this may be one of their darkest. That's another thing that may be turning people off, whether it's critics or audiences: even compared to their other work, this is bleak as all get out.
That could be why Clooney and Heslov wanted to tie it into to racial disparity, but maybe it's just too nasty already with its main storyline. America has the air of s***-headedness all around it, with this little boy, his uncle, and I guess the black family as the only decent characters around. It also works though that Clooney gets strong performances, which we'd expect, but Jupe is also a nice find as Nicky - he kind of has to be, as he holds much of the film on his little shoulders, and his arc, however slim it might seem, is there and is satisfying. Extra kudos should go to Oscar Isaac who has two scenes and, as one might expect, steals the show (the trailer made that clear - just a sip of a coffee cup does that).
I think that I actually left Suburbicon with more positive feelings than not based mostly on the fact that the script still has the tightness and drawing-you-in sense that the Coens can do with their dramas and thrillers (not as one of their best, certainly not Ladykillers though), but ultimately there is that weird backdrop that is screaming at you when it shouldn't. Perhaps if the black family and the racial strife had been played realistically, it could have made for a better contrast against the horrible-no-good Gardner household. But who has time for subtlety? I can hear the ghost of Stanley Kramer shouting, "dial it back a notch, fellas!"
I think part of the problem for me goes to the premise, since it's established but seems a bit unclear: there's this Pleasantville-ish(?) town called Suburbicon in the 1950's (I should think it's after Rosa Parks but I'm also not sure how much actual history goes into play here), where people from all across the country - yes, including Mississippi, though an accent can't be found - and it's as white as the driven snow. So, naturally, when the one black family moves in to town, they make Rock Ridge in Blazing Saddles look rather pleasant and corn-pone. No, somehow many, many white people spend every day/night outside this black family's house and act like there's the second coming of Lucifer (because, you know, there's those things like miscegenation and mixing of the races). Meanwhile, there's an inconsistency early on (not major, but it's there) when little Nicky's mother (or Aunt, they kinda look the same, y'know) tells him to go play catch with the new black boy just across the way since, well, shouldn't that be the last thing she tells him and he finds the boy his own way?
But nevermind - this is where the movie doesn't work, but I get the intention of it, of course I do, since the signs are as bright as Batman's light through your window. Right now the racial tensions in America are exploding again, and I'm sure there's still plenty to mine for satirical purposes (lord knows we got a great dose of it earlier this year with Get Out). But the black family, except for the little boy who, uh, finds a small snake (symbol!) and is pleasant enough, don't have any character to them, and everything with this is presented as metaphor.
It doesn't jibe with the rest of the film, which is dark and comic but still presented as realistic and with characters who are drawn to such a point as we know the Coens are terrific at. Why not make them actual people instead of stand-ins in an allegory? If you strip away the crime plot on its own, it could work much better with some writing - or, better yet, not have the conceit of this town in the first place, which is meant to also have the air of fantasy but... what's the context? *Where* in America *is* this? Pleasantville didn't need to address that, but Suburbicon does (and, to be fair, that may be on the Coens too).
On to the main story, where Damon and Moore (and Moore - again, Fargo just sort of did this last season, but I digress) and son one night get a home invasion, they're chloroformed, and the mother dies. Tragic, and it leads into what one might suspect is coming: Damon and (sister/living, Rose) Moore are scheming to get life insurance money and as for Nicky, well, he might have to be rid of too in some way. The framing at least is right, Clooney knows that much, and since it's primarily from the kid's point of view this works well. I like the Coens dark view of the world, and this may be one of their darkest. That's another thing that may be turning people off, whether it's critics or audiences: even compared to their other work, this is bleak as all get out.
That could be why Clooney and Heslov wanted to tie it into to racial disparity, but maybe it's just too nasty already with its main storyline. America has the air of s***-headedness all around it, with this little boy, his uncle, and I guess the black family as the only decent characters around. It also works though that Clooney gets strong performances, which we'd expect, but Jupe is also a nice find as Nicky - he kind of has to be, as he holds much of the film on his little shoulders, and his arc, however slim it might seem, is there and is satisfying. Extra kudos should go to Oscar Isaac who has two scenes and, as one might expect, steals the show (the trailer made that clear - just a sip of a coffee cup does that).
I think that I actually left Suburbicon with more positive feelings than not based mostly on the fact that the script still has the tightness and drawing-you-in sense that the Coens can do with their dramas and thrillers (not as one of their best, certainly not Ladykillers though), but ultimately there is that weird backdrop that is screaming at you when it shouldn't. Perhaps if the black family and the racial strife had been played realistically, it could have made for a better contrast against the horrible-no-good Gardner household. But who has time for subtlety? I can hear the ghost of Stanley Kramer shouting, "dial it back a notch, fellas!"
This Was Just Not Good
trublu21514 September 2017
I'm a huge fan of the Coen Brothers. To me, cinema doesn't get much better than No Country for Old Men or Burn After Reading or Raising Arizona...you get the idea. So when I heard that George Clooney was directing their next original script, naturally I couldn't wait to see it. Fast track a year and a half later and here we are. Clooney proved to me that it takes much more than a Coen Bros script to make it a Coen Bros film. Suburbicon is one of the few films that will come about where the talent attached to the project is so overwhelming and plentiful but the final product is so mediocre and bordering on bad that it leaves you scratching your head.
The film is very beautiful to start off. The cinematography is very crisp and extremely colorful which makes the setting of the 50s suburbs seemingly pop even more so. The production design and basically anything of a technical aspect is amazingly done here by traditional standards. So why is Suburbicon falling flat? Very simple: Clooney is woefully unqualified to direct a Coen Bros script as are most people. This feels like it was made by someone who watched Fargo and Burn After Reading a dozen times and decided to make this. It feels like it is an imitation and, by the end of the film, that is all it turns out to be. The cast is even really dull despite a fantastic performance from Julianne Moore. Damon can't decide whether to play it funny or serious and that really plays a big part in the violence of the film. It is comically set up but brutally executed. It doesn't feel right at all and it makes for a very tough watch.
Overall, Suburbicon is a film that will probably leave your mind as quickly as it came. It is a very forgettable film. It is a frustrating piece of cinema as well because we will always be left with the thoughts of what could have been. With the level of talent and star power, Suburbicon has no business being as dull and ragged as it is especially because in a technical sense, the film is great. But with Clooney's misguided direction and Matt Damon's very erratic performance, Suburbicon is a miss of the most disappointing fashion.
The film is very beautiful to start off. The cinematography is very crisp and extremely colorful which makes the setting of the 50s suburbs seemingly pop even more so. The production design and basically anything of a technical aspect is amazingly done here by traditional standards. So why is Suburbicon falling flat? Very simple: Clooney is woefully unqualified to direct a Coen Bros script as are most people. This feels like it was made by someone who watched Fargo and Burn After Reading a dozen times and decided to make this. It feels like it is an imitation and, by the end of the film, that is all it turns out to be. The cast is even really dull despite a fantastic performance from Julianne Moore. Damon can't decide whether to play it funny or serious and that really plays a big part in the violence of the film. It is comically set up but brutally executed. It doesn't feel right at all and it makes for a very tough watch.
Overall, Suburbicon is a film that will probably leave your mind as quickly as it came. It is a very forgettable film. It is a frustrating piece of cinema as well because we will always be left with the thoughts of what could have been. With the level of talent and star power, Suburbicon has no business being as dull and ragged as it is especially because in a technical sense, the film is great. But with Clooney's misguided direction and Matt Damon's very erratic performance, Suburbicon is a miss of the most disappointing fashion.
Entertaining enough
fletcherhutchison17 December 2019
Not great but enough to keep me watching, thought it might have been a bit darker and might have appealed a bit more if it was. Too much like Edward Sissorhands turn Truman show.
Damon does pretty well as always but the kid in the film is just woeful, has witnessed half a dozen murders and then proceeds to go throw a baseball in the backyard with his friend like its another magical day in Suburbicon. Didn't leave the best taste in my mouth at the end of the film.
6 Stars for being different, could have been a whole lot better though!
Damon does pretty well as always but the kid in the film is just woeful, has witnessed half a dozen murders and then proceeds to go throw a baseball in the backyard with his friend like its another magical day in Suburbicon. Didn't leave the best taste in my mouth at the end of the film.
6 Stars for being different, could have been a whole lot better though!
The Coens should really direct their own scripts
AlsExGal28 October 2017
In general, I think the Coens are best when they have full auteur-like control over the tone, dialogue, and direction of a movie. They write clever snappy scripts, but they tend to fall flat for me without their direction. I actually enjoyed the main story for awhile, but every beat was so predictable. Also the storyline about the African American Meyer family, whose presence in white 50s suburbia horrifies the neighbors when they are the most normal people in the neighborhood, feels like it should have been its own movie instead of a subplot. Especially knowing that they were based on a real family does them injustice since we didn't get any character development at all, making it hard to care. Oddly, the Meyer family subplot wasn't in the original Coens' script. You can tell there are the makings of an interesting film just beneath the surface, but that is not what made it to the screen.
The Coen Bros. are probably my favorite screenwriters, so this was a must see for me. Being said, this is just a budget Fargo that was all Clooney'd up. This would have been a better movie if it starred Oscar Isaac as a claims investigator trying to figure out what happened to Matt Damon's wife. He could even be crooked. The way we learned information was so boring an un-cinematic.
Clooney has fallen a long way from Good Night and Good Luck. It's a good thing he was already selected for an AFI Life Achievement award before this was released.
I give it 3/10 for great acting which was, alas, to no avail, and good cinematography.
The Coen Bros. are probably my favorite screenwriters, so this was a must see for me. Being said, this is just a budget Fargo that was all Clooney'd up. This would have been a better movie if it starred Oscar Isaac as a claims investigator trying to figure out what happened to Matt Damon's wife. He could even be crooked. The way we learned information was so boring an un-cinematic.
Clooney has fallen a long way from Good Night and Good Luck. It's a good thing he was already selected for an AFI Life Achievement award before this was released.
I give it 3/10 for great acting which was, alas, to no avail, and good cinematography.
Perfect balance between crime flick, dark comedy and social drama
kluseba15 November 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Suburbicon is a movie that doesn't deserve the overwhelmingly negative critics it gets. The movie is an ambitious mixture of a crime flick, dark comedy and social drama in almost equal parts. This isn't unusual for a script by the talented Coen brothers but Suburbicon is particularly out-thought and precise.
First of all, we have the story of a mysterious home invasion in a seemingly perfect town that leads to the murder of a physically disabled mother.
Secondly, the film portrays the small-town stereotypes of the late fifties in a humorous manner and also includes a solid dose of situation comedy.
Thirdly, the movie shows us the struggles of an African-American family in an otherwise homogeneous all-white neighbourhood.
In addition to this original mixture, the film is extremely stylish and portrays small-town stereotypes of the late fifties perfectly, including exchangeable family houses, flashy clothes and robust vehicles.
The movie includes numerous talented actors who are challenged to play unusual roles and deliver good to great jobs. Matt Damon really convinces as two-faced family father, Julianne Moore plays two roles and portrays both a bitter and disabled family mother as well as her manipulative and superficial sister and child actor Noah Jupe has his international breakthrough as he performs a shy and antisocial but also open-minded and clever boy. Even the secondary roles are unique and played by talented actors. One has to point out Gary Basaraba who plays a sympathetic but tough uncle, Oscar Isaac convinces as an investigative insurance agent and Glenn Fleshler impresses as scary villain.
If the acting is so convincing, it's due to the great work of the great directing effort. George Clooney is obviously rather known as an actor but he proves that he can also direct a great movie and I would even say that his precise work here is better than many of the somewhat superficial roles he has played in his career. It's great to see that George Clooney is still trying out new things so late in his career.
Some negative critics here focus on the fact that the movie portrays the racism of an all-white neighbourhood towards an African-American family and even shows the display of a Confederate flag in one scene where an angry mob smashes the windows of the family house. First of all, it's a matter of fact that racism was very present in those neighbourhoods of the United States of America back in the fifties and it sadly still is an issue today if we witness the numerous cases of police violence against African-American citizens. Secondly, the movie also shows that some residents aren't participating in the protests but rather trying to ignore it in order to not get into any trouble with their neighbours which was an attitude several people had back in those days. Thirdly, a few select people are shown which are helping the African-American family the best they can and it's a particularly clever move that the movie focuses on the friendship of a black and a white boy who show the ignorant adults around them that there is hope for peaceful coexistence in the future. Therefore, the movie isn't biased or left-wing propaganda as some angry reviewers try to make you think but a balanced and realistic portrait of a flawed society. Finally, the scene with the Confederate flag isn't offensive because the display of this flag is often associated with white supremacy. If you have a Confederate flag in your yard, you should seriously ask yourself what kind of person you are. This flag isn't anything to be proud of.
To keep it short, Suburbicon is an entertaining, original and stylish movie that mixes crime flick, dark comedy and social drama in a perfectly balanced way. Ignore the negative critics and enjoy one of the greatest movies of the year. The fact that the incredibly boring Blade Runner 2049 gets so much critical acclaim while Suburbicon is unjustifiably criticized proves once more that popular opinions don't mean much when it comes to understanding a piece of art.
First of all, we have the story of a mysterious home invasion in a seemingly perfect town that leads to the murder of a physically disabled mother.
Secondly, the film portrays the small-town stereotypes of the late fifties in a humorous manner and also includes a solid dose of situation comedy.
Thirdly, the movie shows us the struggles of an African-American family in an otherwise homogeneous all-white neighbourhood.
In addition to this original mixture, the film is extremely stylish and portrays small-town stereotypes of the late fifties perfectly, including exchangeable family houses, flashy clothes and robust vehicles.
The movie includes numerous talented actors who are challenged to play unusual roles and deliver good to great jobs. Matt Damon really convinces as two-faced family father, Julianne Moore plays two roles and portrays both a bitter and disabled family mother as well as her manipulative and superficial sister and child actor Noah Jupe has his international breakthrough as he performs a shy and antisocial but also open-minded and clever boy. Even the secondary roles are unique and played by talented actors. One has to point out Gary Basaraba who plays a sympathetic but tough uncle, Oscar Isaac convinces as an investigative insurance agent and Glenn Fleshler impresses as scary villain.
If the acting is so convincing, it's due to the great work of the great directing effort. George Clooney is obviously rather known as an actor but he proves that he can also direct a great movie and I would even say that his precise work here is better than many of the somewhat superficial roles he has played in his career. It's great to see that George Clooney is still trying out new things so late in his career.
Some negative critics here focus on the fact that the movie portrays the racism of an all-white neighbourhood towards an African-American family and even shows the display of a Confederate flag in one scene where an angry mob smashes the windows of the family house. First of all, it's a matter of fact that racism was very present in those neighbourhoods of the United States of America back in the fifties and it sadly still is an issue today if we witness the numerous cases of police violence against African-American citizens. Secondly, the movie also shows that some residents aren't participating in the protests but rather trying to ignore it in order to not get into any trouble with their neighbours which was an attitude several people had back in those days. Thirdly, a few select people are shown which are helping the African-American family the best they can and it's a particularly clever move that the movie focuses on the friendship of a black and a white boy who show the ignorant adults around them that there is hope for peaceful coexistence in the future. Therefore, the movie isn't biased or left-wing propaganda as some angry reviewers try to make you think but a balanced and realistic portrait of a flawed society. Finally, the scene with the Confederate flag isn't offensive because the display of this flag is often associated with white supremacy. If you have a Confederate flag in your yard, you should seriously ask yourself what kind of person you are. This flag isn't anything to be proud of.
To keep it short, Suburbicon is an entertaining, original and stylish movie that mixes crime flick, dark comedy and social drama in a perfectly balanced way. Ignore the negative critics and enjoy one of the greatest movies of the year. The fact that the incredibly boring Blade Runner 2049 gets so much critical acclaim while Suburbicon is unjustifiably criticized proves once more that popular opinions don't mean much when it comes to understanding a piece of art.
Unfairly Reviewed
johnharapa26 January 2021
I have a policy that I won't watch a movie unless it has an IMDB rating of 6 or more. With a 5.7 rating, I almost gave this movie a wide berth.
That is, until I learned the Cohen brothers wrote this, George Clooney directed, and of course it's difficult to not enjoy any Matt Damon flick -,period.
Near impossible to walk away from all that - no?
I'm so glad I chose to ignore the 5.7 rating. Everything is teriffic, wonderful script, director doesn't dominate the direction and the kid is sublime. Stole the show,
Matt Damon doesn't disappoint either.
Was gonna give this a solid 8 but I'll change to 9 to nudge to 6+ where it deserves to be.
WATCH IT - YOU WON'T REGRET !!
That is, until I learned the Cohen brothers wrote this, George Clooney directed, and of course it's difficult to not enjoy any Matt Damon flick -,period.
Near impossible to walk away from all that - no?
I'm so glad I chose to ignore the 5.7 rating. Everything is teriffic, wonderful script, director doesn't dominate the direction and the kid is sublime. Stole the show,
Matt Damon doesn't disappoint either.
Was gonna give this a solid 8 but I'll change to 9 to nudge to 6+ where it deserves to be.
WATCH IT - YOU WON'T REGRET !!
A film of baffling proportions
Rodrigo_Amaro25 September 2022
For some time I kept wondering how come a movie with a good casting and four good writers failed to get an audience and attract critics but after seeing it's no
wonder. "Suburbicon" fails in all possible ways. It's mixture of social commentary of the late 1950's along with a dramatic tense thriller tries too many things at once and it
doesn't succeed in anything. Mostly it was a movie that didn't need to be made, it's that pointless and almost absurd, if it wasn't for the fact that one of the themes worked
was inspired by an actual fact - the racial tension when a prominent black family moved to a white suburb (check out "Crisis in Levittown, PA"). But there's no urgency neither
interesting in such a fictional version of those events.
So you have the exact forementioned story but it's actually something in the background since the main events happen with the next door neighbor, an apparent happy family of father (Matt Damon), wife and her sister (both played by Julianne Moore) and the son (Noah Jupe). One night, they're attacked by two mysterious guys and the invalid sister end up dying. For a moment I thought the story would connect this event with the black family, maybe the people opposed to them would fabricate a crime and pin on them and the main reason for the Damon family inclusion would be that the son befriended the black kid. However, the movie moves further ahead with a complicated plot where we find out that this perfect family who lives the American dream isn't so perfect and they conduct shady businesses with dangerous people.
To make things clearer and shorter: it's a mess of a movie where you don't connect with any of those characters, neither for the harrassed black family since they are put so much in the background and it's the usual racist modus operandi thrown against them (just the mother actually; the father is absent for plenty of time and the kid manages to have a friendship with Damon's boy) that there's no time and space to actually know them and understand why in the world they wanted to move to such a place when despite some evolution when it came to racial terms segregation was still a predominant thing. And as for the other family, they're so cold, bland and lacking in substance that we wonder what's the point in caring for them. We follow the tragedy in curiosity but the more dangerous things and threats comes their way the more ridiculous the story looks.
If there is a word more powerful than disappointed than that's the word I needed to use to define this film. Written by Joel & Ethan Coen, George Clooney (also director) and Grant Heslov, four talented minds and eight skilfull hands yet they came with this wreck of a movie that wasted their talents and of others. My idea was that Clooney and Heslov (writing partners in the brilliant "Good Night, and Good Luck" and "The Ides of March") wrote the social commentary part of the film while the Coens dealt with the suspense, then they joined forces to make a movie that on the deeper level actually had something valuable to say about society and the preconceived notion of appearances and how they affect our perception of reality (the black family is seen as troublemakers and needs to be evicted from the neighborhood and the white family goes above suspicion even though there's violence and crimes happening all around). I understood what they did, I can accept what was proposed in those elevated terms but that doesn't mean they created a good film. It may teach some lesson, some moral but it's too empty, another cliche about life in the suburbs, and it doesn't entertain one bit because it's too lifeless.
I don't have words to describe the acting, all I can say is that Damon is very unusual, unsympathetic and Moore struggles with those two characters; Jupe is a fine young actor...in other movies; Gary Basabara as the uncle was a fun treat. Main and only reason why I'm not trashing this movie so hard is due to the presence of Oscar Isaac as a mysterious insurance investigator, where he injects some odd humor into the family situation by getting suspicious about the woman's murder. You can attest the Coens brilliancy once again with the use of dark humor and intelligent dialogues - but it's just when he's there; two or three suspenseful sequences are also worthy of praise but they're not strong enough to convince audiences to see this.
Trust me on this, you will get very disapppointed, possibly angry with this movie because there might have been a way this could be salvaged or at least better conceived.
Either it could be just Clooney/Heslov idea alone and we'd have a dramatic real life story or just then Coens making their humored thriller, but the union of this quarter simply could not be. Why, George, why? You were on such a good stream of quality films as director and then...bump. 3/10.
So you have the exact forementioned story but it's actually something in the background since the main events happen with the next door neighbor, an apparent happy family of father (Matt Damon), wife and her sister (both played by Julianne Moore) and the son (Noah Jupe). One night, they're attacked by two mysterious guys and the invalid sister end up dying. For a moment I thought the story would connect this event with the black family, maybe the people opposed to them would fabricate a crime and pin on them and the main reason for the Damon family inclusion would be that the son befriended the black kid. However, the movie moves further ahead with a complicated plot where we find out that this perfect family who lives the American dream isn't so perfect and they conduct shady businesses with dangerous people.
To make things clearer and shorter: it's a mess of a movie where you don't connect with any of those characters, neither for the harrassed black family since they are put so much in the background and it's the usual racist modus operandi thrown against them (just the mother actually; the father is absent for plenty of time and the kid manages to have a friendship with Damon's boy) that there's no time and space to actually know them and understand why in the world they wanted to move to such a place when despite some evolution when it came to racial terms segregation was still a predominant thing. And as for the other family, they're so cold, bland and lacking in substance that we wonder what's the point in caring for them. We follow the tragedy in curiosity but the more dangerous things and threats comes their way the more ridiculous the story looks.
If there is a word more powerful than disappointed than that's the word I needed to use to define this film. Written by Joel & Ethan Coen, George Clooney (also director) and Grant Heslov, four talented minds and eight skilfull hands yet they came with this wreck of a movie that wasted their talents and of others. My idea was that Clooney and Heslov (writing partners in the brilliant "Good Night, and Good Luck" and "The Ides of March") wrote the social commentary part of the film while the Coens dealt with the suspense, then they joined forces to make a movie that on the deeper level actually had something valuable to say about society and the preconceived notion of appearances and how they affect our perception of reality (the black family is seen as troublemakers and needs to be evicted from the neighborhood and the white family goes above suspicion even though there's violence and crimes happening all around). I understood what they did, I can accept what was proposed in those elevated terms but that doesn't mean they created a good film. It may teach some lesson, some moral but it's too empty, another cliche about life in the suburbs, and it doesn't entertain one bit because it's too lifeless.
I don't have words to describe the acting, all I can say is that Damon is very unusual, unsympathetic and Moore struggles with those two characters; Jupe is a fine young actor...in other movies; Gary Basabara as the uncle was a fun treat. Main and only reason why I'm not trashing this movie so hard is due to the presence of Oscar Isaac as a mysterious insurance investigator, where he injects some odd humor into the family situation by getting suspicious about the woman's murder. You can attest the Coens brilliancy once again with the use of dark humor and intelligent dialogues - but it's just when he's there; two or three suspenseful sequences are also worthy of praise but they're not strong enough to convince audiences to see this.
Trust me on this, you will get very disapppointed, possibly angry with this movie because there might have been a way this could be salvaged or at least better conceived.
Either it could be just Clooney/Heslov idea alone and we'd have a dramatic real life story or just then Coens making their humored thriller, but the union of this quarter simply could not be. Why, George, why? You were on such a good stream of quality films as director and then...bump. 3/10.
Suburbicon is a very dark comedy
hollywoodhernandez-7086827 October 2017
Suburbicon is a very dark comedy from the mind of director George Clooney. Clooney has a very twisted sense of humor. The gags about murder and death run rampant in the movie, yet some how we can't help but laugh at the misfortune that occurs to the characters in Suburbicon.
Suburbicon is a fictitious suburban town in the late 1950's where things are slow and the worries about the traffic and the hustle of the big city are far away. Then the unthinkable happens to the members of the small community; a black family moves to town!
We soon see the "true colors" of the people in the small community as they ban together to "over come" and run the professional black family out of town. Meanwhile, next door to the protesting mob, a home invasion takes place at the Gardner house (Matt Damon and Julianne Moore). Damon's wife is killed by the burglars and he and his sister-in-law pick up the pieces after the crime, along with his young son Nicky (Noah Jupe), and start a new life. But things take a twist and we find out that Damon's character is not what he appears to be to everyone in the community of Suburbicon.
The movie is written by Clooney, along with the Cohen Brothers (O Brother, Where Art Thou) and is about as satirical as you can get. It drips with irony and is a social commentary film about this country, both in the 1950's and still even today.
Even with it's violence and dark theme this will be a film that will be discussed at Oscar time, perhaps even as Best Movie. There is no denying the quality of the film; however, it wasn't a movie I really enjoyed. For me it was too dark and too violent. It's rated "R" for violence and sexual situations and runs at 1 hour and 44 minutes.
There were parts of the movie that made me howl with laughter and the black family living in suburbia was another good twist on the tale, but overall the movie wasn't an enjoyable experience. My sense of decency made it hard for me to laugh at all the murders and violence in the movie.
On my "Hollywood Popcorn Scale" I rate Suburbicon a LARGE. Hollywood Hernandez
Suburbicon is a fictitious suburban town in the late 1950's where things are slow and the worries about the traffic and the hustle of the big city are far away. Then the unthinkable happens to the members of the small community; a black family moves to town!
We soon see the "true colors" of the people in the small community as they ban together to "over come" and run the professional black family out of town. Meanwhile, next door to the protesting mob, a home invasion takes place at the Gardner house (Matt Damon and Julianne Moore). Damon's wife is killed by the burglars and he and his sister-in-law pick up the pieces after the crime, along with his young son Nicky (Noah Jupe), and start a new life. But things take a twist and we find out that Damon's character is not what he appears to be to everyone in the community of Suburbicon.
The movie is written by Clooney, along with the Cohen Brothers (O Brother, Where Art Thou) and is about as satirical as you can get. It drips with irony and is a social commentary film about this country, both in the 1950's and still even today.
Even with it's violence and dark theme this will be a film that will be discussed at Oscar time, perhaps even as Best Movie. There is no denying the quality of the film; however, it wasn't a movie I really enjoyed. For me it was too dark and too violent. It's rated "R" for violence and sexual situations and runs at 1 hour and 44 minutes.
There were parts of the movie that made me howl with laughter and the black family living in suburbia was another good twist on the tale, but overall the movie wasn't an enjoyable experience. My sense of decency made it hard for me to laugh at all the murders and violence in the movie.
On my "Hollywood Popcorn Scale" I rate Suburbicon a LARGE. Hollywood Hernandez
great job
Kirpianuscus2 January 2019
It reminds Shakespeare tragedies and it reminds Hitchcock thrillers. It is impecable crafted and surprising. A mix of crime, racial segregation, dark childhood, dark humor. And the performance of Noah Jupe. A film by George Clooney . And lovely portrait of a perfect world , defined by its shadows. The rhytm, the force of story, the seductive old fashion solutions, the cinematography and the atmosphere are basic pieces defining a more than fascinating film like this.
Pathetic negative reviews, they're all fake to me
deloudelouvain24 March 2018
So much negative reviews about this movie, I wonder why? If you stay objective you will never score this movie under five. Giving this movie the lowest possible score is just ridiculous and unfair. There are thousands of movies that are really really bad, what are you going to score those ones then? I can get that you don't like the story and then a five star rating would be justified, but the acting and the execution would at least have been considered. I did like the movie, like I do with everything else the Coen brothers do. The story was good and entertaining. The acting of Matt Damon is always good, if you don't see that then you don't know anything about acting. Julianne Moore was also good with her performance and even the kid Noah Jupe did a great job. So to me it's all a mystery how you could rate this movie so badly. Just find another hobby and stop watching movies because you will not like 99% of the movies then.
The Coens Never Needed The Clooney
TheFearmakers28 October 2017
Warning: Spoilers
It may have seemed logical before, but now there's genuine proof that a Coen Brothers movie has to be both written and directed by Joel and Ethan so that the dark comedy seems genuine, palpable, and not one bit contrived...
But their own personal Cary Grant in George Clooney, the star of a few less inspired installments after the bro's last true classic, THE BIG LEBOWSKI, has, as director and co-writer, made his very own "Coen Brothers" experience taking place in a 1950's Suburban community called, simply enough, SUBURBICON, a misleading paradise with postcard-perfect houses and manicured lawns belonging to one-dimensional neighbors, all of them white... Save for the black family that just moved in... a husband, wife and child suffering through chanting protests right outside their living room window, and for absolutely zero reason plot-wise except to further prove how hypnotically racist, soulless and Stepford-like Caucasians were back then...
But even this chanting mob is merely a background distraction for a pointless fable centering on who seems to be the most open-minded neighbor, living with his aunt and son after wife/mom was killed in an opening scene that plays out like IN COLD BLOOD on downers... Which the main character, Matt Damon, seems to have overdosed on: With zero personality he's hardly a person to either root for as a hero or follow as a pawn through this sluggish maze without corners.
Despite a few quirky Coen elements, SUBURBICON goes absolutely nowhere, slowly. The location is supposed to mean everything, and does look old-new and genuinely nostalgic, but it's eye candy without a main course. Plus there's a particularly loud, awkward silence throughout: difficult to explain except that it occurs when a movie has no point or purpose, urgency or destination...
Unlike a real Coen's film, the moments that don't serve the plot aren't intriguing/engrossing as a character-study while these characters, white or black, drive absolutely nothing. The best thing is the relatively short run time. Plus there's an inevitable yet still somewhat intriguing primal twist that could've given Matt Damon's middle-aged sad-sack a touch of TALENTED MR. RIPLEY but... no dice.
Not even Coen stock trouper Julianne Moore has anything more to give than dull stares in the 4.8 IMDb-rated abyss that, like THE MONUMENTS MEN, proves Clooney is more beloved within the "progressive" bowels of Hollywood than a mainstream audience: anyone else would be banned from filmmaking. As an actor (HAIL CAESAR) and a director, he should just stay away from the Coens... Especially in this case, tacking-on an overblown social message to what was (most likely) a Noir-inspired tale of murder and mayhem. Let's face it... George is so politically motivated, he simply can't have any fun. To paraphrase the mortician's request to Don Corleone in THE GODFATHER... He wants us to suffer, like they suffered.
But their own personal Cary Grant in George Clooney, the star of a few less inspired installments after the bro's last true classic, THE BIG LEBOWSKI, has, as director and co-writer, made his very own "Coen Brothers" experience taking place in a 1950's Suburban community called, simply enough, SUBURBICON, a misleading paradise with postcard-perfect houses and manicured lawns belonging to one-dimensional neighbors, all of them white... Save for the black family that just moved in... a husband, wife and child suffering through chanting protests right outside their living room window, and for absolutely zero reason plot-wise except to further prove how hypnotically racist, soulless and Stepford-like Caucasians were back then...
But even this chanting mob is merely a background distraction for a pointless fable centering on who seems to be the most open-minded neighbor, living with his aunt and son after wife/mom was killed in an opening scene that plays out like IN COLD BLOOD on downers... Which the main character, Matt Damon, seems to have overdosed on: With zero personality he's hardly a person to either root for as a hero or follow as a pawn through this sluggish maze without corners.
Despite a few quirky Coen elements, SUBURBICON goes absolutely nowhere, slowly. The location is supposed to mean everything, and does look old-new and genuinely nostalgic, but it's eye candy without a main course. Plus there's a particularly loud, awkward silence throughout: difficult to explain except that it occurs when a movie has no point or purpose, urgency or destination...
Unlike a real Coen's film, the moments that don't serve the plot aren't intriguing/engrossing as a character-study while these characters, white or black, drive absolutely nothing. The best thing is the relatively short run time. Plus there's an inevitable yet still somewhat intriguing primal twist that could've given Matt Damon's middle-aged sad-sack a touch of TALENTED MR. RIPLEY but... no dice.
Not even Coen stock trouper Julianne Moore has anything more to give than dull stares in the 4.8 IMDb-rated abyss that, like THE MONUMENTS MEN, proves Clooney is more beloved within the "progressive" bowels of Hollywood than a mainstream audience: anyone else would be banned from filmmaking. As an actor (HAIL CAESAR) and a director, he should just stay away from the Coens... Especially in this case, tacking-on an overblown social message to what was (most likely) a Noir-inspired tale of murder and mayhem. Let's face it... George is so politically motivated, he simply can't have any fun. To paraphrase the mortician's request to Don Corleone in THE GODFATHER... He wants us to suffer, like they suffered.
Don't show them nothing
nogodnomasters28 January 2018
Warning: Spoilers
In 1959 an idyllic suburban neighborhood boosts diversity until a black family moves in and provides a poorly contrasted sub-plot. Gardner Lodge (Matt Damon) lives the American dream, except his wife (Julianne Moore) is confined to a wheel-chair and that neighbor thing. A home break-in changes everything and we discover a dark side to our happy family.
As a dark comedy, it was too heavy on theme and too light on humor. The juxtaposition of the violence didn't create the meaningful contrast as intended. Simply stated...it missed the mark, even though the film had great potential. If John Goodman and Steve Buscemi had been the bad guys, you would of had a film.
Guide: F-word. sex. No nudity.
As a dark comedy, it was too heavy on theme and too light on humor. The juxtaposition of the violence didn't create the meaningful contrast as intended. Simply stated...it missed the mark, even though the film had great potential. If John Goodman and Steve Buscemi had been the bad guys, you would of had a film.
Guide: F-word. sex. No nudity.
It's a Misguided, Mismatched Disaster
Jared_Andrews28 October 2017
George Clooney's latest directorial effort, overflows with Oscar-level talent both on camera and off. A quick glance at the credits list on IMDb would make moviegoers flush with excitement. But sadly, Suburbicon is one of those cases in which a movie with a loaded cast teamed with a star director and writers turns out awkwardly, embarrassingly wrong. It's unfunny, ill-fitting, frustrating, pretentious, tone deaf and abysmal. In other words, this movie is a disaster.
In addition to Clooney directing and the Coen brothers writing, the movie features the tremendously talented Julianne Moore and Matt Damon, who both feel like they're going through the motions of a walk-through day at practice. The stoicism of Moore and Damon's dorky dimwitted schtick both feel tired—been there done that. Given the limitations bestowed on them and their stiff characters, their half-hearted efforts are understandable, but nonetheless disappointing.
Suburbicon's greatest flaw is its mismatched identity. It doesn't know what it wants to be. Attempting to weld together two incompatible story lines, it throws the audience for a loop. Is it a socially conscious tale of racial mistreatment with the backdrop of a "perfect" all-white 1950s neighborhood, or is it a satirical Fargo-like family scam gone darkly and comically awry? A movie can't be both, so it succeeds at neither. Simply put, it just doesn't work.
Clooney and Coen brothers have produced sweet music on past projects, but they have different goals here. The Coens provide a zany violent spice as Clooney strives for an earnest political commentary zest. The combination leaves the movie with an incongruous and unpleasant flavor.
Mercifully, there are a few highlights. The consistently excellent Oscar Isaac provides a charming liveliness and the promising young Noah Jupe delivers a helping of humanity to a movie that is mostly starved of decency.
Alongside the scam family's disarray, a more disturbing story takes place as the town's first black family arrives (remember, this is the 1950s). The quiet and respectable family is tormented, subtly at first, rapidly escalating to a mob scene complete with violence, vandalism and fire. What is this disgusting side story doing in the movie? What purpose does it serve? Seemingly none. It's condescending and obnoxious. The father of the tormented family doesn't even receive a single speaking line. This story's inclusion a clumsy attempt to depict racism that uses the black actors as mere showpieces, rather than meaningful, developed characters.
The racial subplot is so vague and shallow that it winds up feeling empty. The rest of the movie isn't much different. This movie was not worth any of these stars' time and it's certainly not worth yours.
In addition to Clooney directing and the Coen brothers writing, the movie features the tremendously talented Julianne Moore and Matt Damon, who both feel like they're going through the motions of a walk-through day at practice. The stoicism of Moore and Damon's dorky dimwitted schtick both feel tired—been there done that. Given the limitations bestowed on them and their stiff characters, their half-hearted efforts are understandable, but nonetheless disappointing.
Suburbicon's greatest flaw is its mismatched identity. It doesn't know what it wants to be. Attempting to weld together two incompatible story lines, it throws the audience for a loop. Is it a socially conscious tale of racial mistreatment with the backdrop of a "perfect" all-white 1950s neighborhood, or is it a satirical Fargo-like family scam gone darkly and comically awry? A movie can't be both, so it succeeds at neither. Simply put, it just doesn't work.
Clooney and Coen brothers have produced sweet music on past projects, but they have different goals here. The Coens provide a zany violent spice as Clooney strives for an earnest political commentary zest. The combination leaves the movie with an incongruous and unpleasant flavor.
Mercifully, there are a few highlights. The consistently excellent Oscar Isaac provides a charming liveliness and the promising young Noah Jupe delivers a helping of humanity to a movie that is mostly starved of decency.
Alongside the scam family's disarray, a more disturbing story takes place as the town's first black family arrives (remember, this is the 1950s). The quiet and respectable family is tormented, subtly at first, rapidly escalating to a mob scene complete with violence, vandalism and fire. What is this disgusting side story doing in the movie? What purpose does it serve? Seemingly none. It's condescending and obnoxious. The father of the tormented family doesn't even receive a single speaking line. This story's inclusion a clumsy attempt to depict racism that uses the black actors as mere showpieces, rather than meaningful, developed characters.
The racial subplot is so vague and shallow that it winds up feeling empty. The rest of the movie isn't much different. This movie was not worth any of these stars' time and it's certainly not worth yours.
A Lot of Cooks, Not Sure Who's the Chef
bkrauser-81-3110641 November 2017
Levittown-style suburban sprawl, post-war nuclear family utopianism and the dark side of oblivious slice-of-life Americana; this much you know is being satirized in Suburbicon, director George Clooney's latest film. The trailer makes it look like a cathartic black comedy straight from the mind of Ira Levin. A movie whose plot pops and sizzles with the beat of DJ Shadow's "Nobody Speak". Yet Clooney, along with co-writers Grant Heslov and the Coen Brothers have pulled a pretty massive bait-and-switch here. Suburbicon isn't some zany misadventure through the clutter free streets of Caramel, IN. Instead it is a messy, sleazy and surprisingly old-school crime thriller where the characters dare to be unlikable and the comedy only hums in the background.
After developing the mis en scene, Suburbicon's plot begins when a sudden home invasion rattles a middle-class family out of their beds in the dead of night. When the ordeal is done, the wheelchair bound matron of the home (Moore) has died and Nicky (Jupe), the resident pre-teen begins to suspect there's something more to his mother's death than just bad luck. Meanwhile Gardner (Damon), Nicky's father finds himself overwhelmed when Aunt Margaret (also Moore) comes to stay all while the police and the insurance company start sniffing around.
It'd be impossible to go into further detail concerning the various positives and negatives of the plot without it constituting spoilers (this being a crime thriller after all). So I'll just say that those who had their interest piqued by the trailer will be getting sushi when the expectation is prime rib. I will also say that part of the reason why audiences and critics have their knickers in a twist about this movie is because large swaths of said movie progress with us, the audience knowing about as much as the interminably passive Nicky.
If this was more fully a Coen joint, that air of mystery could have yielded some interesting dividends but since George Clooney is at the helm, the best we can hope for is even-handed pacing, even-handed cinematography, even-handed editing etc. That basic tension between the brio of the Coens and the sensibilities of the Clooney/Heslov partnership regrettably prevents Suburbicon from being anything more than the sum of its parts. Some scenes work when viewed through the mercurial lens of subtle changes in power dynamics. While others work as fairly obvious if impassioned political broadsides. Some scenes are puzzles, others sermons. Most work, but not strung together.
Throughout the film there's a subplot involving the only black family in the neighborhood being constantly harassed by their white neighbors. On their own, or under better management, these scenes could have verged on the side of poignant. But because they're so overshadowed thematically via the crime plot, they basically become tagged on social statements. This in itself wouldn't have been such a problem (I mean, remember when we actually liked movies like The Help (2011)) but the visuals strongly suggest there's supposed to be more there than just scapegoating 101.
What ultimately saves the beautiful mess that is Suburbicon (other than plot which again I can't discuss) is the shear passion found throughout its production. Much like the plot, the art direction is a purposefully garish pastiche. The dark wooden paneling, lead-lined kitchen appliances and aluminum coffee presses serve to cement the story in a time, place and a specific, uneasy psychology. The acting all-around is superb with Oscar Isaacs threatening to steal the show as an unscrupulous insurance investigator. Even the young Noah Jupe proves memorable though, again because his whole arc is going from passivity to activity he's not given enough to really do until the third act.
Given how many good ideas, solid performances and requisite passions that are evident in this film, it's a shame Suburbicon isn't better than it is. If it were possible, I'd like to visit a parallel universe where the Coen Brothers directed this film, then visit another where Clooney and Heslov cooked up this thing from the stock on up. In this universe however it's clear all four men are in the kitchen, what's not clear is who the chef is.
After developing the mis en scene, Suburbicon's plot begins when a sudden home invasion rattles a middle-class family out of their beds in the dead of night. When the ordeal is done, the wheelchair bound matron of the home (Moore) has died and Nicky (Jupe), the resident pre-teen begins to suspect there's something more to his mother's death than just bad luck. Meanwhile Gardner (Damon), Nicky's father finds himself overwhelmed when Aunt Margaret (also Moore) comes to stay all while the police and the insurance company start sniffing around.
It'd be impossible to go into further detail concerning the various positives and negatives of the plot without it constituting spoilers (this being a crime thriller after all). So I'll just say that those who had their interest piqued by the trailer will be getting sushi when the expectation is prime rib. I will also say that part of the reason why audiences and critics have their knickers in a twist about this movie is because large swaths of said movie progress with us, the audience knowing about as much as the interminably passive Nicky.
If this was more fully a Coen joint, that air of mystery could have yielded some interesting dividends but since George Clooney is at the helm, the best we can hope for is even-handed pacing, even-handed cinematography, even-handed editing etc. That basic tension between the brio of the Coens and the sensibilities of the Clooney/Heslov partnership regrettably prevents Suburbicon from being anything more than the sum of its parts. Some scenes work when viewed through the mercurial lens of subtle changes in power dynamics. While others work as fairly obvious if impassioned political broadsides. Some scenes are puzzles, others sermons. Most work, but not strung together.
Throughout the film there's a subplot involving the only black family in the neighborhood being constantly harassed by their white neighbors. On their own, or under better management, these scenes could have verged on the side of poignant. But because they're so overshadowed thematically via the crime plot, they basically become tagged on social statements. This in itself wouldn't have been such a problem (I mean, remember when we actually liked movies like The Help (2011)) but the visuals strongly suggest there's supposed to be more there than just scapegoating 101.
What ultimately saves the beautiful mess that is Suburbicon (other than plot which again I can't discuss) is the shear passion found throughout its production. Much like the plot, the art direction is a purposefully garish pastiche. The dark wooden paneling, lead-lined kitchen appliances and aluminum coffee presses serve to cement the story in a time, place and a specific, uneasy psychology. The acting all-around is superb with Oscar Isaacs threatening to steal the show as an unscrupulous insurance investigator. Even the young Noah Jupe proves memorable though, again because his whole arc is going from passivity to activity he's not given enough to really do until the third act.
Given how many good ideas, solid performances and requisite passions that are evident in this film, it's a shame Suburbicon isn't better than it is. If it were possible, I'd like to visit a parallel universe where the Coen Brothers directed this film, then visit another where Clooney and Heslov cooked up this thing from the stock on up. In this universe however it's clear all four men are in the kitchen, what's not clear is who the chef is.
Satire? Social commentary? Murder mystery? What a mess!
paul-allaer29 October 2017
2.5 stars... Satire? social commentary? murder mystery? "Suburbicon" (2017 release; 105 min.) is, as we learn in the movie's opening commercial, a suburban city founded in 1947 with now 60,000 inhabitants "and the only thing missing is... you!". We then get to know the Lodge family, with Gardner, his wife Rose, her twin sister Maggie, and their young son Nicky. One evening Gardner gets Nicky out of bed because 2 men have broken into the house and are up to no good. In a parallel story, Suburbicon is shaken up when the first African-American family moves in right next door to the Lodge family. The Suburbicon Betterment Committee is outraged. At this point we're 10 min. into the movie, but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.
Couple of comments: this is the latest movie directed by George Clooney. He is working from a scrip of the Coen brothers, who reportedly cam up with this in the mid-80s. (Maybe that is where it should've been left...) The movie has the Coen fingers all over it, yet fails dismally on many levels. Is this supposed to be a satirical take on the now seemingly idyllic late 50s? (The movie is set in 1959, we learn at some point.) Or is this a social commentary about racism in suburbia? Or in this a murder mystery of some sort? Truth is that the movie tries to be all of those things, and as a result isn't anyone of those things. The all-star cast goes for naught in this mess (Matt Damon, Julianna Moore, etc.), but there is a true break-out performance, namely from Noah Jupe, the little boy play the role of Nicky. Check out the final scene between Gardner and Nicky, and you will know what I mean. The set production is pristine. And last but certainly not least, the orchestral score by composer Alexandre Desplat is tops. But that is not nearly enough to save this badly misjudged movie.
"Suburbican" opened wide this weekend and outright bombed at the box office (less than $3 million, the worst opening ever for either Clooney or Damon). The early Sunday evening screening where I saw this at here in Cincinnati was attended dismally (5 people, including myself). Given the bad reception this move has gotten by critics and the general audience alike, I can't see this playing more that a week or two in theaters. Maybe this will find some more interest when available on VOD and eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, although I certainly cannot in good conscience recommend this to anyone. Viewer beware!
Couple of comments: this is the latest movie directed by George Clooney. He is working from a scrip of the Coen brothers, who reportedly cam up with this in the mid-80s. (Maybe that is where it should've been left...) The movie has the Coen fingers all over it, yet fails dismally on many levels. Is this supposed to be a satirical take on the now seemingly idyllic late 50s? (The movie is set in 1959, we learn at some point.) Or is this a social commentary about racism in suburbia? Or in this a murder mystery of some sort? Truth is that the movie tries to be all of those things, and as a result isn't anyone of those things. The all-star cast goes for naught in this mess (Matt Damon, Julianna Moore, etc.), but there is a true break-out performance, namely from Noah Jupe, the little boy play the role of Nicky. Check out the final scene between Gardner and Nicky, and you will know what I mean. The set production is pristine. And last but certainly not least, the orchestral score by composer Alexandre Desplat is tops. But that is not nearly enough to save this badly misjudged movie.
"Suburbican" opened wide this weekend and outright bombed at the box office (less than $3 million, the worst opening ever for either Clooney or Damon). The early Sunday evening screening where I saw this at here in Cincinnati was attended dismally (5 people, including myself). Given the bad reception this move has gotten by critics and the general audience alike, I can't see this playing more that a week or two in theaters. Maybe this will find some more interest when available on VOD and eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, although I certainly cannot in good conscience recommend this to anyone. Viewer beware!
Why do people think this movie is terrible?
dawnlscherer29 November 2017
Warning: Spoilers
I was really disappointed when I started seeing all kinds of bad reviews for Suburbicon pop up. I was so excited to see it! I finally watched it today and I don't know what you guys are talking about. I felt it was a pretty spot on dark comedy. I didn't think it was overly gruesome. I didn't think it was confusing. I didn't think loose ends were left. On the social plane, I've seen reviews that accuse the movie of being racially inflammatory. I've also seen reviews that took the opposite stance and said that the black and white story lines never came together and the black story line was simply used as a backdrop. I don't agree. I thought it was rather entertaining that this white- washed community just attributed all the violence taking place to the new black family in the neighborhood, rather than realizing they had a couple of white sociopaths living next door. It showed how prejudice just promotes ignorance. Pretty solid message if you ask me..
Neighboorhood
kosmasp5 February 2020
An inciting incident, a torn family and something wicked this way comes. It's kinda crazy and the story is out there. It also keeps you guessing and on your toes. Very well made (not that I expected different from Clooney) with some flaws along the way.
When it comes to suspense this really knows how to keep it up. Not to mention a really well casted young main character - it's not easy to find kids who have charisma and can act at the same time. Since I didn't know what this was trying to do, some of the things that happened surprised me - if you've seen the trailer or read more than me, certain developments might be an open secret. Enjoyable and enteraining overall though
When it comes to suspense this really knows how to keep it up. Not to mention a really well casted young main character - it's not easy to find kids who have charisma and can act at the same time. Since I didn't know what this was trying to do, some of the things that happened surprised me - if you've seen the trailer or read more than me, certain developments might be an open secret. Enjoyable and enteraining overall though
The Evil Truth about White Suburbanites
st-shot30 October 2017
Writers and Producers The Coen Brothers wisely allow George Clooney to take directorial blame in this insipid "satire?" but their fingerprints are all over it from the sets (A Serious Man, The Hudsucker Proxy) to kitsch (Lebowski) to harebrained conniving lead (Fargo) found in Gardner Lodge vapidly played by Matt Damon. With an army of abrasive caricatures and stereotypes the boys take their sardonic style to the burbs and bomb big-time in the most blatant demeaning of a race in a major film since Birth of a Nation.
Suburbicon is a lily white community where minor exec Gardner is living the American Dream but wants more by way of scamming the insurance company including a recent attempt to off his wife in an automobile accident. The second time he succeeds when he stages a home invasion but matters get botched and bodies begin to pile up. While this is happening an unwelcome black family is at first picketed then put under siege.
As a director Clooney has a dreary filmography featuring major disasters (Leatherheads, The Monuments Men) and timid insinuation ( Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Ides of March) but here he surpasses himself with an outright slandering of a race in a rather less than subtle expressionistic expose of white suburban hypocrisy teeming with greed and racism.
It certainly is a damning indictment of white society with its montage of well fed flabby faced condescending caricatures to go along with out of control crew cut pick-up driving red necks picketing the black family's home which eventually explodes into full scale riot.
What compelled Clooney and the Coen's to make this quirky dark comedy lecturing white America and shaming it's recent ancestors and less than slyly (neighbors begin to build fences, pesky Stars&Bars are displayed) condemn them for their actions now is not exactly a sound marketing campaign. As a crafted film it is a sloppy, heavy handed self hating piece of astonishing hubris; the work as a whole an unintentional self parody of the film's creators.
More than likely based upon the Levittown Riots of 1957, a suburban community begun by William Levitt that blatantly refused in its contracts to sell to Blacks. The first Black family to move in brought the wrath of much of the community down upon them but they also had significant defenders within that community. The film ignores this by tarring with a broad brush that is not only dishonest but clumsily and venally applied in order to fit the patronizing filmmakers agenda. It is PC run amok made by tone deaf elitists living in ivory towers.
Suburbicon is a lily white community where minor exec Gardner is living the American Dream but wants more by way of scamming the insurance company including a recent attempt to off his wife in an automobile accident. The second time he succeeds when he stages a home invasion but matters get botched and bodies begin to pile up. While this is happening an unwelcome black family is at first picketed then put under siege.
As a director Clooney has a dreary filmography featuring major disasters (Leatherheads, The Monuments Men) and timid insinuation ( Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Ides of March) but here he surpasses himself with an outright slandering of a race in a rather less than subtle expressionistic expose of white suburban hypocrisy teeming with greed and racism.
It certainly is a damning indictment of white society with its montage of well fed flabby faced condescending caricatures to go along with out of control crew cut pick-up driving red necks picketing the black family's home which eventually explodes into full scale riot.
What compelled Clooney and the Coen's to make this quirky dark comedy lecturing white America and shaming it's recent ancestors and less than slyly (neighbors begin to build fences, pesky Stars&Bars are displayed) condemn them for their actions now is not exactly a sound marketing campaign. As a crafted film it is a sloppy, heavy handed self hating piece of astonishing hubris; the work as a whole an unintentional self parody of the film's creators.
More than likely based upon the Levittown Riots of 1957, a suburban community begun by William Levitt that blatantly refused in its contracts to sell to Blacks. The first Black family to move in brought the wrath of much of the community down upon them but they also had significant defenders within that community. The film ignores this by tarring with a broad brush that is not only dishonest but clumsily and venally applied in order to fit the patronizing filmmakers agenda. It is PC run amok made by tone deaf elitists living in ivory towers.
two kinds of evil in a supposedly ideal setting
lee_eisenberg17 December 2018
Warning: Spoilers
When George Clooney's "Suburbicon" got released, the critics panned it, complaining that it didn't make the parallel stories fit together satisfactorily. It does fall short in that respect, but otherwise it's an enjoyable black comedy with all the traits of a Coen brothers movie. Basically, it's all about evil. There's the racism directed at the African-American family that's just moved into the neighborhood designed by white people for white people. But there's also the slimy plot getting carried out by Matt Damon's character. He seems like the typical mild-mannered family man, but he's part of a scheme to have his wife (Julianne Moore) murdered and cash out the insurance claim. As always, the idealistic facade of the all-American dream hides a litany of shenanigans.
Aside from the son's befriending of the African-American boy next door, the movie could've done a better job linking the two stories and showing that both were manifestations of humanity's worst impulses taking place in what was supposed to be a heaven on earth. But otherwise I liked it. Julianne Moore puts her all into her third performance as a 1950s housewife (after "Far from Heaven" and "The Hours"), and damned if she doesn't look fine in some of those outfits! After the unmitigated disaster that was "Inside Llewyn Davis" - which had no character development and ignored the role of the folk revival in the Civil Rights Movement - the Coens could only go up, and they did with both this and "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs" on Netflix.
Aside from the son's befriending of the African-American boy next door, the movie could've done a better job linking the two stories and showing that both were manifestations of humanity's worst impulses taking place in what was supposed to be a heaven on earth. But otherwise I liked it. Julianne Moore puts her all into her third performance as a 1950s housewife (after "Far from Heaven" and "The Hours"), and damned if she doesn't look fine in some of those outfits! After the unmitigated disaster that was "Inside Llewyn Davis" - which had no character development and ignored the role of the folk revival in the Civil Rights Movement - the Coens could only go up, and they did with both this and "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs" on Netflix.
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