Genre: Drama/ Comedy/ Crime
Runtime: 139 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Riley Keough, Topher Grace, Jimmi Simpson,Zosie mamet, Callie Hernandez, Riki Linhome, Summer Bishil, Grace van Patten, Patricj Fishler, Luke Baines, Laura-Leigh Claire
Description: Sam (Andrew Garfield), intelligent but without purpose, finds a mysterious woman swimming in his apartment's pool one night. The next morning, she disappears. Sam sets off across LA to find her, and along the way he uncovers a conspiracy far more bizarre.
Review: After the atmospheric horror film “It Follows”, director David Robert Mitchell does something unexpected with “Under the Silver Lake”. He creates an ambitious art house film with a hint of neo-noir. It’s a sensational and hypnotizing ride, but only if you like cryptical and creative adventures that lead to nothing. It’s absurd, weird and artistic. Not for everyone.
Sam is a nobody. He smokes weed in a grim apartment in Los Angeles, filled with vinyl records and Hitchcock posters. Watching his gorgeous neighbor, entertained by his fuckbuddy and weird encounters with dead animals. The film has a strange tone from the start, it’s all over the place. You have no clue what Sam is up to, but his neurotic tics and strange happenings are enough to keep you interested.
After the introduction, Sam goes on a neo-noir adventure when his pretty neighbor goes missing. His paranoid brain looks for patterns and conspiracies. Secret codes, hobos, fallen movie stars, hidden messages in music, corrupt elites and dog killers. When you read this random list of words, you know it’s a strange film. But it’s the good kind of strange.
It’s understandable that “Under the Silver Lake” got mixed response during the Cannes film festival. This is one of those typical films that has a small, specific audience. And I think only a few people will appreciate it. I am one of those people.
I really loved seeing Andrew Garfield as Sam. A different film and role for him, but he did a great job. “Under the Silver Lake” felt like a mix of “Mulholland Drive” and “The Big Lebowski”. If you like both movies, you will like this one too. If you don’t like one or both film, you won’t like this either.
“Under the Silver Lake” is definitely not a film for everyone. And many people won’t see the brilliance of this film.
Rating: 4,5/ 5
