Suburbicon (2017) Mini Film Review

This movie is weird but weird in a good way, weird in a way that I’m not used to it because it feels so different from the typical Hollywood tropes we’ve been used to. However, feel it does stumble quite a bit. This film is, in essence, a black comedy so know that going in.

Premise

A peaceful all-white neighbourhood, Suburbicon, is thrown into chaos as an Afican American family moves into it. An insurance agent becomes embroiled in the situation and things start to get worse. Could the problem be solved before it’s too late?

Screen Shot of Suborbicon film — Matt Damon in a strange neighbourhood

Review

Plotwise, I knew next to nothing about its plot and the trailer I watched actually lead me astray. The film starts pretty abruptly, kind of in the middle of a crucial plot element and you don’t find out about what’s really going on and more about the characters until much later. I absolutely loved having to think and piece together what was really going on but I can see some ppl being turned off as they don’t really get the story. In a sense, especially during the first part of the film, we are viewing the story from one particular character’s POV, who happens to be a kid as he slowly figures out what’s really up with the actions of some adults in his life.

I will say that the film starts and ends really strongly but the middle kind of drags a bit as more and more puzzle pieces are revealed bit by little bit. There was also this side story about racism which made sense for the period the film is set in but I felt like it didn’t really have all that much impact on the film as a whole and in fact, kind of distracted me from the main storyline.

The acting here is superb and I especially have to praise the child actor as he really delivers during some rather intense sequences. Matt Damon is excellent too and I might be wrong but this might be his first time playing a role of this nature and his performance is chilling. The cinematography, set design and color grading really made this a great period piece too. It has a really idyllic and pretty look.

Ultimately, it is an interesting direction the film has decided to go in and if this is a development of a style from George Clooney and the Coen Brothers, I am definitely interested in their next film. The film is actually very “Coen-esque” in terms of its plot and characters. However, it still has ways to go.

Suburbicon (2017) Mini Film Review

Story

Pacing

Characters

Soundtrack

Reader Rating0 Votes0

What's good?

Story unfolds in a very interesting way, layer by layer, not showing us the full picture right from the get go

All characters are very well acted, set design immaculate, world is very believable

What's bad?

Pacing drags a lot in the middle

Certain side stories do not really have any impact on the main one

3.3

It's okay

Great cast that is marred by the film script and pacing

Even with the many talented casts and well-defined visual style, Suburbicon suffers from its pacing and script quality in delivering a good film. It is still enjoyable, but it is far from perfect.

Author Details

Author Details

Oscar Sim

A film enthusiast who wishes more people would share in the appreciation of films. I hate spoilers and some of the best experiences are had when you go into a film knowing absolutely nothing. I try to be as impartial as possible and generally will be optimistic towards my scoring of a film so if I give a low review…well, it’s bad.

oscar.sim343@hotmail.com