We watched it. It’s a very complicated plot with lots of people and names to keep track of. Very good cast and great dialogue. Two things we didn’t like: 1) As always, Soderburgh insists on using only natural light so many indoor scenes were very dim. 2) They used a scope lens on every scene, with a lot of panning, so the image was distractingly distorted.
I tried watching it last night and only got about halfway thru it. Given the cast and director, I'll probably give another shot but I thought it was boring and very slow moving.
So that's what that was. I thought the TV channel screwed up the aspect ratio. The first time I saw Cheadle he was on the edge of the screen and looked so skinny I thought he must have cancer or something. Then he filled out as he moved towards the middle of the screen. What a bizarre decision to make. "Hey, I know - let's make the edges of the screen into funhouse distortion mirrors, that'll work!".
I managed to finish watching it this afternoon. I can honestly say I never thought I would say 50's Gangster movie and catalytic convertor in the same sentence! What a stupid idea for a movie!
I like Soderbergs direction. It's got style but he never stops telling the story. He is often lean on information but that is his way of keeping the viewer focused. The twists of fate came in a flurry but were never confusing. He likes natural light and he likes natural speaking patterns and sometimes he could ask an actor to pipe up a little but this was another captivating piece by a guy who's too smart to quit.
Certainly got my streaming dollar's worth last week - No Sudden Move, Summer of Soul and The Tomorrow War.
Giving it a thumbs down. Soderbergh has done some stuff that are favorites, I expected better. But he tends to be more experimental and sometimes he misses, I rate this a miss. The complexity of the plot is something more like a Christopher Nolan film and feels incongruent in a 50's Detroit mob film. Also thought there is'nt much fire in any of the performances. I was'nt bothered much by the lens thing, but it does seem to get mentioned a lot as detracting factor. It does'nt generate the excitement of a good mob film, and does'nt really work as a neo noir either. Thought it was all just thoroughly mediocre. Maybe leave the mob films to Marty.
it was a 6.5 out of 10. about 20 minutes too long and kind of confusing towards the end. matt damon's cameo was a nice surprised he lifted up the movie near the end and it needed it badly.
I thought it was Cinemascope, which exhibits that distortion. But, I couldn't find any reference to it regarding this movie. I found a few reviews mentioning a fish-eye lens. Maybe Vidiot can clarify for us.
I just don't know what the point of the uncredited thespian was all about. Is he really that huge of a movie star?!
The catalytic converter/emissions element central to the movie has a present day relation: EU Commission fines Volkswagen and BMW $1 billion for emissions collusion - CNN
Soderbergh has shot a couple of low budget movies with an Iphone. I just assumed that the wonky tracking shots, etc., was because he was doing that again. Perhaps it was something else and regular digital video rig. It seems like he always needs some style gimmick to keep him interested when making something these days - sort of a Jack White in reverse.
The lens used, the vignetting, the lens flair, and the “Batman/ West Side Story” camera angles are taking me out of the story. (Any distance motion shot is wavy. People look like they are bended backwards when standing up) … but besides the crackhead with an iPhone cinematography choices, I thought it was pretty good.
I enjoyed this, an authentic neo-noir, well-write and well-acted. If it gets a blu-ray release I'll buy it. Soderbergh shot the film with his iphone camera. This is the fourth or fifth film he's made with the iphone camera technology following UNSANE, LAUNDROMAT and I forget the other titles. In my professional opinion the iphone lens isn't good enough, but he has decided to overlook that particular problem. Shooting with the iphone enables him to capture 2K or 4K while eliminating the cost and overhead of a large camera crew. He's a member of the DGA which forbids directors to operate the camera, but there is no rule against an iphone. So he operates, directs, and lights. His entire camera unit is held in one hand. After the day's shoot he edits the footage on his laptop. The entire technology is in his knapsack and in the cloud. Anyhow, the iphone lens is sharpest in the center and less sharp as it nears the edges. The anamorphic mode crimps the sides of the frame, especially during pans, push-ins and pull-outs. Soderbergh has made a conscious decision not to let these deficits prevent him for making his movies his way. He shot the film for $2 million. Most of that paid for SAG contracts and period car rentals. At that budget level his film can't fail to earn its money back and enter profits.
