I don’t think this will be for everyone as it is definitely a slow burn, but director Kitty Green definitely understands how to build tension, deliver timely themes, and has a promising collaboration with Julia Garner going forward.

I have been really looking forward to seeing this since it was announced. Kitty Green & Julia Garner’s first collaboration in 2019 with The Assistant showed promise between director & actress. Seeing another collaboration between the two certainly brought excitement for this project. I meant to see this about a week ago, but life can prevent that from happening sometimes. Since this was really the only movie out in theaters this weekend, I believe it was worth going to see and I highly encourage people to go check this out if they can.

After watching this, what I love most between this and The Assistant is Kitty Green’s dedication to showing the how & the why of toxic masculinity from the female perspective. She understands how to build the tension around situations that feel realistic, which really heightens the anxiety throughout. One could say that there is not much going on and I can understand why. Just as something seems to be happening, Green pulls back. It can be nerve-racking and unpredictable with what comes next, which is a pro and a con. Delivering a film that makes one anxious throughout is impressive. The problem with that here is that with little to no characterization for nearly every single character can hurt the motives behind some of the decisions made.

What I truly appreciate about Green’s work thus far is how she shows more than tells. Immediately, we are thrown into the major characters played by Julia Garner & Jessica Henwick. They are out having a good time in Australia until they are faced with the reality that they need money and they need it fast. This brings them to The Royal Hotel – a questionable place of why these two girls even need to be hired in the first place as the area appear to be dissolute. This all happens within a short amount of time with the only context of these characters being where they are is that they are on vacation and it appears that they are trying to escape their reality from back home. While the film does the best that it can to explain prior events throughout, an additional twenty minutes or so could have really helped. There is not much explained as to why these characters decided to leave & how long they are planning on staying. If anything, I could see the film’s message here being that being young and being in tough situations can often lead to people choosing desperate measures. That’s not the film’s main point though as it gets in the actual meat of the story.

The film’s biggest takeaway is how small towns who are out of touch can be truly detrimental to others. It almost makes sense if that is where the main characters come from as they feel comfortable in this small town, yet they feel uncomfortable at the same time. Due to this component, I can see the film having major playback rewatch ability. Having a rewatch for this would certainly change my view of it positively every time.

Going back to the main story and what it resolves around, it shows how men can’t handle themselves when something new and something desirable comes into their lives. Starting off with Hugo Weaving’s appearance, the girls find his behavior to be odd, yet they brush it off and they continue to do this as time goes on until Julia Garner’s character becomes the voice of reason. Garner’s performance is truly great, but without much context as to who these characters were before, it makes them going forward quite confusing. Why have Garner be the voice of reason, yet brush things off almost immediately? Why be with friends with someone continuously gaslighting her? There’s not many answers to this other than Jessica Henwick’s character is that desperate and doesn’t care who it hurts as long as she thinks she is moving on. I am not sure if that is the best approach to this as it makes their character decisions quite conflicting with one another. Once again, more characterization in the beginning would have really helped.

For a ninety-minute film, the tense pacing allows for this film to say what it needs to say without feeling rushed. One moment, it looks like the girls are making the right decisions, then it seems like things are getting better, but they don’t, only going to show that their gut instincts were right. The climax is certainly gut-wrenching as everything from before comes down to everything hitting the fan. Garner’s performance feels real and her journey to becoming tough & resilient is one of the best aspects of the film. Seeing Henwick’s character go from nonchalant to understanding that she needs to listen to those closest to her was a satisfying character arc. The overall ending truly is satisfying, but it still doesn’t tackle what comes next for the characters. It can be left to assumption, but more could have been done to give these main characters a satisfying conclusion such as showing what happens to them when they come back home.

Overall, the slow burn pace may not be for everyone, but I am confident that if you can stick through it and wait to see what messages it has to entail, you will find a film that effectively says a lot thanks to its writing, direction, and on-screen talent.

VERDICT: Pretty Good