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🎙️ EPISODE 257: 04.08.20
Everyone's favorite "would-be couple" Jessie Eisenberg and Imogen Poots (both in The Art of Self-Defense, also 2019) are back in a big way. And the perennial nerd boy Eisenberg playing against type as janitor/sorta manly man? That might be the least believable aspect of this wacky film. No but seriously, this shockingly timely film is a strong recommendation for me. Even if watching it in this moment (COVID-19 World Pandemic What's Up!) did not feel good stuck at home with TWO young, sometimes screaming children, but... for sanity's and optimism's sake, let's not mention the virus/quarantine again. Hopefully, these references will feel dated at some point in time. (Ed. Note, several years later: Ha LoL.)
I would say my main criticism of this is that it tries to play it a bit too smart (cute) for it's own good. There's a thin line between legitimately, intensely smart and "Webster's defines..." faux intelligence. The title (umm, do you know Latin??) broaches this territory as do some of the fiercely transparent metaphors. |
This film enters the metaphysical very quickly. Perhaps too early? I felt that way in the moment, but seeing how things played out, I feel it really works. And I don't care that the demon/quasi-satanic (?) stuff is half-baked at best; that's weirdly kind of a positive for me, actually. Much of this movie is offered up at face value. And since that face is the very definition of surreal, anything COULD happen next. The film, however, loses its sense of mystery in this regard, and that's undeniable.
Vivarium isn't particularly deep or hard to figure out. It's more horror than sci-fi. What it does and does very well is encapsulate a mood inside of a succinct and lovely visual style (below the "sickening little clouds," as Poots describes them). It's legit creepy and the small cast does big things inside of this unreal world. And it closes with an expertly placed XTC song. It's a good one. Solid 8!
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