Black Bear Review

A filmmaker at a creative impasse seeks solace from her tumultuous past at a rural retreat, only to find that the woods summon her inner demons in intense and surprising ways.

As we begin the film, we get a silent introduction to Allison, who is subtly sitting by the pool, and we transition from scene to scene, and Allison is moving with a somewhat creepy score playing in the backdrop.

We transition to the introduction to Gabe (Kit.. I mean Christopher Abbott) and him talking to Allison, and as they mosey on the way to his house, he grills her on the who, the what, the how of who she is.

Next, we met Blair (Sarah Gadon), who is Gabe’s wife, and she is having trouble with Allison’sAllison’s presence. Their banter is becoming troublesome as Gabe and Allison begin to get along a little more than she likes, which leads to a BLOWUP.

Although what happens is what you would expect, the director puts this disbelief in your head of what is or isn’t going to happen. This leads me to talk about the shooting of the movie itself. Lawrence Levine’s choice of shooting was nothing short of remarkable. The film’s dark undertone is met with this beautifully dark score that enriches the dialogue and the thrilling aspect of his screenplay.

After all this praise, the transition from the first act to the second was a complete disaster. Every single piece of momentum that the film had crashed and burned. The idea Levine is trying to portray is fine, but the execution just lacked any caring resemblance.

However, Aubrey Plaza gives an emotionally in-depth performance that proves why this woman needs more dramatic roles in her future. In this movie, she is absolutely insane when she went from this subtle yet sarcastic woman to this emotionally out of control woman. Just wow.

Finally, we get to the end and let me emphasize FINALLY. I am so very frustrated with which the film decided to go. It reminded me of Waves, which had a PHENOMENAL opening act and went downhill afterward—just a massive letdown after opening with such a huge bang.

The Verdict:

‘Aubrey Plaza gives the best performance of her career’