When it comes to genre films (AKA the stuff that the Oscars
consistently overlooks), one of the most common retorts is to put down its
status as fiction. Or, more accurately, its place as fiction that takes a
further suspension of disbelief than others. It can be about ghosts, ghouls,
robotic zombies, time travel, Danny Huston playing a character that you don’t
want to punch in the face; some things are just too much for others to buy
into.
And even as someone who leans in hard when it comes to speculative
fiction, to an extent, I get that mentality. But what that tends to leave out
is the notion that stories like that, even the most fantastical, are influenced
by reality. Sometimes, fiction is the only way to externalise very real, very dark,
very serious thoughts and feelings. And it is here where this film shines.
