Ostensibly, it’s also a film about revolution. It is both a film where Netflix (the film’s distributor) figures in as a major plot point and also one where men conduct backdoor business in saunas like it’s the slickest thing since buttered bread. It is also one of many recent films shot entirely on an iPhone, but its stylistic trappings are more indebted to classic Hollywood than to any new stylistic possibilities the iPhone has opened up. It’s a film about basketball, one of the most dynamic sports ever created, yet also one where the action primarily takes place in nondescript business rooms, hotel lobbies and living rooms. It is a mix-up, which even as I am writing is forcing me to crack up, because that strange mix of pathos and black humor is the tone which Hamer should have tried to maintain throughout the movie, instead of it hitting its peak in that key scene.High Flying Bird is a film of contradictions. The strongest amount of laughs which the movie elicited from me, was when the commission discovers a case of mistaken identity in the worst way possible the survivor of a train accident reveals herself as the girl who was supposed to be dead, to the mother of the girl who was supposed to be alive. What occurs are vignettes of varying tone and structure, varying intensity in humor and seriousness. Also, Read – May the Devil Take You Netflix Review: Another Middling Horror Entry Frank’s deadpan or limited gasp of surprise and horror gives an added dose of humor, but that lack of energy in the characters also gets transmitted in the narrative. There is ample influence of the Coens in this form of storytelling that infuses dark humor, but unlike their films, there is a lack of energy to the proceedings. Remove the satire and what we have is the episodic storytelling structure following a thoughtful but naive Frank Farelli – a man who takes the role of the middleman with gusto, but is slowly blindsided by events in the movie which could only be described as a comedy of errors, or fate playing cruel tricks. Most of the inhabitants of this town feel like they are walking through a daze, waiting for something impactful to happen, but even if it occurs they are unable to react, or maybe they have forgotten to. A freight train passes the closed down railway station at the dead of night leaving only a whistle in its lonely wake. The town’s only sign of activity is the dying embers of a steel plant. It’s a weird, almost idiosyncratic of a premise, but as a kernel of satire is debatable. Related to The Middle Man – 22 JULY REVIEW: STRONG START RUINED BY A TEDIOUS MIDDLE PORTION The existence of such a job is due to the town’s constant state of depression caused due to financial collapse, and due to the Commission’s fear of being able to bear the bad news. Frank, the protagonist is a middleman, a job created by “The Commission” – a triumvirate consisting of the Sheriff, the Doctor, and the Pastor – who decide to hire a ‘Middle Man’ whose sole responsibility will be to inform the family when an unfortunate incident occurs. It’s fascinating because ostensibly speaking, this is supposed to be a satirical look at the United States during the tenure of Donald Trump’s Presidency.
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