[dubman]

saw it a second time last night and despite taking in the extra details and processing it more critically, i found that when the third act came in i was really just waiting for the final bowling scene.

spoilers

there's the first scene, the baptism, the mudfight, the sermons, the confessions, the business death threat... all those scenes are wonderful to watch, but that final scene is 15 sustained minutes of daniel's final fullfillment of his constant hatred for the things he sees in people and especially what he sees of himself in others. his son was basically what was keeping him tethered, and losing that part, along with having acheived the dream he needed a good business face to attain, let him show/react as he always would to his dim view of humanity and it's structures, especially that of religion, without censor. paul dano's eli was practically a validator of his most misanthropic views, and experiencing a conman trying to con a fellow conman reignites his vicious competition with no business or social restraint to keep him from expressing his full disgust. i'm not surprised it ended in murder, nor that he became strangely comical, because the desire to humiliate necessitates some way of belittling. the first time was slapping him repeatedly, getting on top of him, holding his arms and pushing mud in his face. the last scene was a hatefully condescending and childish lecture that was primarily fueled by eli's desperation (he could barely stand up before), chasing him around, throwing him in the lanes for target practice, acting and hollering in a way that would be funny if the target didnt feel so trapped with a rage that couldnt be reasoned with, so instead it's just terrifying for eli, because it's the thought of them having fun while intending to probably kill you, but funny for us.

the scenes in between the many, many highlights of the movie seem to be there as character building, daily motions, either reinforcing his obsessive/dismissive nature or adding depth to his relationship with his son, but a lot of time i was struck with the feeling that these senes were added JUST for that, as if it was a conscious acknowledgement that this kind of quiet is the kind thats respectable and favored. it's what makes it LOOK like high-end movie making. luckily for PT, it mostly lives up to that idea by being an excellent story overall, but it's still too self-conscious about it to really lose myself in.

first time i saw it i was blown away by the end scene enough to give it a 9. seeing it again did make the faults more apparent: the half brother storyline helped to flesh out daniel some, but felt unwelcome and awkward (fitting i guess, but not especially enjoyable to put up with all the same). and while the poker-faced character of HW was fun to experience and unique, skipping ahead 12 years from a sensory and emotional victim into someone thoughtful, emotional, married, and sensitive was, if not a big jump, then at least noticably ignoring that transition. again, maybe necessary for the sake of a movie, but lacking nonetheless. but i cant tell if i like those 'faults' because a perfectly oiled (haha) movie is a boring one, or because these faults never really distrupt the tone or feel out of sync from the overall vision.

i wouldnt rate it any lower, it's just not the blown-away, movie-of-the-year, oh-my-fucking-god experience that the gradually building climax had me thinking as i left it the first time, though it is a truly excellent movie.

that last 15 minutes though... i mean, i couldnt be happier with that.

DRAAAAAAAAAIIIINNNNNNNAAAAAAAGE