32/36
Plot
A woman takes a career break to be a stay-at-home mom, but her domestic behavior soon takes a surreal turn
It was originally intended to be released straight to streaming on Hulu, but strong reception from test screenings led Searchlight Pictures to release it in theaters instead…
Featured on The Graham Norton Show: Bruce Springsteen/Amy Adams/Vanessa Williams/Bill Bailey/St
Vincent (2024).
Riding Carousel"Performed by Alexander McCabe, Written by Alexander McCabe
Rating – 5.2: Overall, a pretty bad movie that just feels like it was made for ‘Booktok’; Amy Adams can only do so much considering how dumb the story is, despite its strong messages about the struggles of motherhood.
Director – Pretty Bad: The macro-scale direction is very simple and pleasant, it feels like this movie was made specifically for "Booktok" ; the micro-scale direction is very bland, forced, and simple; the storytelling is incredibly simple and boring, as it reads like a mother reading this story to me
Story – Bad: The concept is actually very dumb and it’s obvious that this movie was made for "Booktok" because the book is a "Booktok" book; not only is the concept dumb, they do a poor job of actually presenting it and showing its importance because it just feels like a small detail in the whole movie; the plot structure is very clear and simple; The character writing is pretty good, although it is very overt because the main character is a symbol of the struggles with motherhood and how it’s okay not to be the perfect mother.
Screenplay – Pretty Bad: The dialogue is simple, boring and written like it was for "Booktok" ; the dialogue is so bad that there is literally a scene within the first 20 minutes of the movie where the main character says "I’m a night bitch" ; the humor is good but very violent; the symbolism is deep as the entire movie is about the struggles of motherhood and accepting that nothing is a model of a mother or a person; the foreshadowing is only there because the movie is very formulaic
Acting – Pretty Good: Amy Adams – Good (Her performance is good only because she’s Amy Adams; she’s not given to work with), Scoot McNairy – Pretty Good (She has pretty good chemistry with Adams and does a good job showing their one-sided dynamic), Rest of the cast – Decent (Lots of background actors who are good, mostly just supporting Adams) Cinematography – Decent: Simple Editing – Decent: Simple Visual Effects – Pretty Bad: Pretty unpleasant Pace – The pace is a little slow because the narration moves the story forward Climax – The climax is pretty forced Tone – The tone seems a lot like that movie that "Booktok" was made for Final Notes – I saw the premiere at the Austin Film Festival; It’s obvious who this movie is for, I’m clearly not the target demographic; This was supposed to be the movie that saved Amy Adams, not destroyed her.
Spanish