This might have the single weirdest initial expectation of
any film I’ve covered on this blog so far, based purely on the people behind
the scenes. On one hand, you got director Denis Villeneuve, one of the greatest
filmmakers working today who specialises in digging deep into the murky guts of
humanity to create genuine works of art. On the other, you have writer Eric
Heisserer who, aside from penning the woefully unnecessary Nightmare On Elm
Street remake, also wrote this year’s winner for “No, I’m still not over this piece of shit” Lights Out. Conflicting opinions
is putting it mildly. Then again, the big failing with Lights Out wasn’t
exactly the writing, but more the director’s unwillingness to accept the far
darker aspects of the themes involved. Anyone who has sat through Villeneuve’s
recent works like Prisoners and Sicario will know that he can do no such thing.
To make matters even weirder, what really makes this film stand out ultimately has
nothing to do with explorations of morality or even getting into properly dark
territory. Why did I bring it up then? Because sometimes, even if we want to
argue otherwise, expectations don’t mean a damn thing.
