Ironically enough considering the title, it's one of the more difficult and daring films I've seen, in the sense that it intentionally creates a completley mundane, vapid universe, that is as hard to sit through for the viewer as it is for the main character, Claire. Her surburban life is so meaningless, bland, and boring that it ends up suffocating her, as if it's a toxic disease she can't escape, both literally and figuratively.

Claire's character throughout revolves around realization and awakening. Many of Claire's lines, including her speech at the end, shows her envisioning people "waking up" to the toxicity of the world, much as her disease allowed her to wake out of her existence as a meaningless drone of a housewife. When she's listening to the fundamentalist speeches in the group meeting or sees Peter exploiting the patients, she feels like she's the only one awake in a room full of sleeping drones who will buy everything this place says. The more she feels "awake" in relation to the sheepish mentality and falseness in the world around her, the sicker she gets, and in condition the more she seperates from the regular humans. Which is why the wandering man, who is the most seperated from regular human societal conditions and borders, looks like a walking mummy thing, beautifully inhuman, stoic, and removed from any other being.

Julianne Moore is incredible in the lead, it's one of her best performances and one of the best showings of emotional breakdown I've seen. Haynes is wise to keep everything about her character subtle and closed in, a lesser filmmaker would've felt the need for "big" crying scenes, but Claire's inner turmoil is portrayed so effectively in her quietness that it creates a completley human character in a world that is not. As a whole, I liked that the film didn't feel the need for over-exposition in either the plot or its messages, Haynes lets us put together and interpret the film ourselves. In particular the film wisely leaves whether her condition is real or simply mental as ambigious, but I don't believe it matters, the end result of Claire's world making her sick and being forced to awaken from it is the same.

The movie is shot beautifully, Haynes as usual has perfect framing in his shots, capturing the slow drawling movement of Claire through her house, driving, or being choked in the rest of her world. Like many great filmmakers he reaches the most effect through images over dialog (which is intentionally useless in most of the film anyway), and again his decisions concerning Claire as a completley internal character and general withholding of exposition, are very wise.

I'm really looking forward to watching this again, as I feel I picked up a lot more reflecting afterwards, and reading other takes. Also on the first viewing I was looking for where the plot was going, I get the sense that on further ones I'll be able to concentrate on the individual moments and shots themselves and the intricies of Moore's performance, and not be as bothered by the film's slow pace.

Nevertheless, it's at the very least an extremely ambitious and interesting near-masterpiece, that certifies Todd Haynes as one of my favorite present day directors.

Beautiful movie. Excellent performance by Julianne Moore. Fantastic direction by Todd Haynes. The baby shower is probably one of my favorite scenes of all time.

9/10 (A-)

I still regret missing this movie in theatres...

Asphyxiating, indeed. There's so much more to say besides raving Julianne Moore's work here (oscar-worthy even in a great year for actresses as it was 1995), but I'm kinda speechless, specially after ending this only 30 mins ago or so...

I might write more later. Or not.