Even at a mere 89 mins of runtime, the sloth pacing made this annoyingly dull and boring film feel like 3+ hours long. Listed as a drama-thriller, it's remarkably un-thrilling, and the drama wasn't dramatic; the missing girl sub-plot had more drama to it.
Co-writers Alanna Francis and Mark Van de Ven left all the meat and potatoes off the plate and served up just some tasteless kale posing as a fancy salad. Even the subplot with the missing girl was a pointless red herring - why even write that in? To make matters worse, the writers didn't convince me that Kendrick's character didn't already have pre-existing social anxiety issues, before trying to sell me that the boyfriend is the problem, especially how she was to her so-called best friends. The entire narrative just felt undercooked and incomplete, lacking any real impactful intentions the writers had.
Then you have director Mary Nighy taking already boring scenes, and making them awkward and unbelievable. The three gal's friendship was unconvincing, as was their handling of each others insecurities towards themselves and each other, so to make the audience believe they have the ability to help (or even want) the victim, was simply unrealistic and unconvincing.
The only believable performance was Kendrick, as Nighy failed to properly direct the rest of her cast effectively, especially the other two girls. I respect the message that was trying to get conveyed, but all attempts to do so were too weak and contrived, and the end result fell short of any accomplished messaging.
I can't recommend this, because I really would've rather watch paint dry for what felt like over three hours. It's a generous 5/10 only for Kendrick's performance, and the decent score and cinematography.
Co-writers Alanna Francis and Mark Van de Ven left all the meat and potatoes off the plate and served up just some tasteless kale posing as a fancy salad. Even the subplot with the missing girl was a pointless red herring - why even write that in? To make matters worse, the writers didn't convince me that Kendrick's character didn't already have pre-existing social anxiety issues, before trying to sell me that the boyfriend is the problem, especially how she was to her so-called best friends. The entire narrative just felt undercooked and incomplete, lacking any real impactful intentions the writers had.
Then you have director Mary Nighy taking already boring scenes, and making them awkward and unbelievable. The three gal's friendship was unconvincing, as was their handling of each others insecurities towards themselves and each other, so to make the audience believe they have the ability to help (or even want) the victim, was simply unrealistic and unconvincing.
The only believable performance was Kendrick, as Nighy failed to properly direct the rest of her cast effectively, especially the other two girls. I respect the message that was trying to get conveyed, but all attempts to do so were too weak and contrived, and the end result fell short of any accomplished messaging.
I can't recommend this, because I really would've rather watch paint dry for what felt like over three hours. It's a generous 5/10 only for Kendrick's performance, and the decent score and cinematography.