Magic Mike
Wallflower
Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2004 4:53 am Posts: 34876 Location: Minnesota
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God's Country (2022)
Quote: When a college professor in the remote mountains of the American West confronts two hunters she catches trespassing on her property, she’s drawn into an escalating battle of wills with catastrophic consequences. Based on the short story “Winter Light” by James Lee Burke. Rating: R (Language) Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Western, Drama Original Language: English Director: Julian Higgins Writer: Shaye Ogbonna, Julian Higgins Release Date (Theaters): Sep 16, 2022 (Wide) Runtime: 1h 43m Distributor: IFC Films I saw this last night. Was the only one in the theater which was nice but it was also unfortunate that more people aren't seeing it. I think this is one of the best films of the year with a great ending. I didn't think they'd go there but it was what I wanted to happen so I was very pleased that they did. It was cathartic. Thandiwe Newton is incredible. She'll be overlooked during awards season which is a shame. She is Oscar-worthy. If you happen to have this playing nearby go see it. A
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Algren
now we know
Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2004 9:31 pm Posts: 67125
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Re: God's Country (2022)
God's Country does a great job at highlighting militant wokeism. Thandie Newton plays Casandra Guidry, an I-don't-like-something-therefore-nobody-else-is-allowed-to-like-it-either retired police officer from New Orleans, who moves to the cold American west. Looking for trouble, and grieving from the death of her mother, burdened by past ills, and deeply troubled by identity politics, she picks a quarrel with some local hunters, and she keeps escalating the situation until it reaches the point of no return. The stakes go from a two to a ten in a single exchange. The house fire is a step too far, and obviously the hunters are in the wrong, but everything leading up to that is of Casandra's making - before that she could have easily backed down and apologised, and it would have all gone away. She instigated the whole thing with her city-born hostility and her righteous victimhood. She could not let it go, and thus it doesn't end well for anybody.
As for the film; it is rather slow. It is staged over seven days, and honestly if you're looking for a hunted-versus-hunter thriller you can skip the first five days. Nothing much happens in the way of action. It is, however, an example of the plague that has beset the United States in recent years where it is almost en vogue to consider white males as threatening; villainous; and problematic. Honestly, all she had to have said was "I'd rather you didn't park here guys, but if you do make sure you clean up after yourselves and generally keep the noise down. Thanks" and this film would not exist. But the film is not about that. It's larger, a macro snapshot of the new American civil war, and it excels in this regard. But overall, as a piece of entertainment, it is lacking.
As for performances, nobody particularly stands out, though it is nice to see Thandie Newton again, and to see Jefferson White (Jimmy from Yellowstone), and Jeremy Bobb.
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