20s Movie Review - Stillwater

Director: Tom McCarthy
Genre: Drama/ Crime
Runtime: 139 minutes
Year: 2021
Starring: Matt Damon, Abigail Breslin, Camille Cottin, Lilou Siauvaud

Description: A father (Matt Damon) travels from Oklahoma to France to help his estranged daughter (Abigail Breslin), who is in prison for a murder she claims she didn’t commit.

Review: “Stillwater” is loosely inspired by the story of murder accused Amanda Knox, a guilt-ridden father tries to free his daughter in an environment he does not understand. Knox herself critiques the film.

Bill leaves the town of Stillwater for Marseilles, to clear his daughter of murder charges. The infamous true crime story of Amanda Knox started in Italy and  according to Knox, director Tom McCarthy abuses her story and regurgitates unproven rumors.

In the film, Bill is a God-trusting, gun-toting and straight talking American. In Marseilles he befriends single mother Virginie. She helps him in trying to free his daughter Allison.

“Stillwater” contains many improbable plot twists; for example, Bill takes actions that seem reckless even to an ignorant American. Nevertheless, the film remains captivating because McCarthy dares to take a lot of time for creating a certain mood and atmosphere. This makes the bond Bill develops with both Virginie and her young daughter Maya believable. , But above all, it allows Marseilles to be portrayed as a beautiful, but at the same time stark and complex contemporary European city, making it an ideal location for a dark story.

The film is a tad to long and there was one thing in the story that didn’t make any sense to me, which has to do with a basement. Not going to spoil it. And the ending felt rushed, when they had such a long runtime. They could have put more attention into that part, because it’s a crucial part of the story.
Even though it was an engaging film, it had some flaws that were hard to forgive.

Rating: 3/ 5