#81
Post
by therewillbeblus » Sat Jan 16, 2021 1:28 am
Enorme is one of the most miserable failures I've seen in some time. There are plenty of opportunities for dark and absurdist humor, and many scenes seem to be going for such moods theoretically, but the delivery consistently misfires in a series of half-measures and diffident confusion. The actors can't carry the tones that are demanded to transform the delicate material into a success, but the blame rests squarely on the filmmaker who avoids risks to confidently stand by whatever "vision" existed once. She opts to play it all very light and safe, causing more than a few double-takes as the meanspirited/selfish manipulations causing such harm and dissonance in the relationship aren't acknowledged in any form that may indicate forethought beyond seeing each camera shot (yes, even within a given scene, what a scattered mess) as an individualized unfunny impulse-driven skit. And that's the biggest problem, that this film just isn't funny- and it's trying very hard to be, especially Cohen who acts like a YT amateur trying to make it as a bombastic comedian by standing out like a cartoon in each well-dry frame. The early shaman bit had all the right pieces for laughs including a decent enough setup of dialogue, but every line fizzled and died even when they were objectively inspired, and that's by far the best part of this shitshow. The surreal turn the film takes at the halfway mark makes it even worse, as Letourneur repetitiously doubles and triples down on her first-act fumbling, cutting away from an expression, gesture, or gag when there's a chance it could go somewhere interesting, and lingering far too long on Cohen blundering like an idiot in a sustained one-note joke of gender-norm reversal in almost every scene where he behaves that way (which is basically all of them). Oh and the long-gestating ending that intends to serve as a sobering moment for Cohen feels entirely unearned and keeps with the sloppy energy of a film that has no idea what it wants to be. I feel awful for Marina Foïs, who seems built as an ironic character within her circumstances in the form of a stoic, serene model, but instead just flounders like a dead fish as a victim who isn't treated as such by the film's tone, making this all the more offensive. I think Letourneur is attempting to strike this disturbing vibe in a subtle way, but in a film of constant missteps who's to tell. I hated this movie.