Here’s another film that I watched for my companion Michael
Shannon Blog, but I thought my reader here shouldn’t be left out. The film was
overlong and dull, which was a pity as the premise of a family surviving 20
years in a bunker following an environmental disaster sounded interesting, but
I have to say I had my doubts when I read it was a musical.
The film is set wholly within the wealthy family’s bunker,
which was created within a salt mine. The specifics of the disaster are kept
somewhat vague, but it’s made pretty clear that Michael Shannon’s character ’Father’
was one of the instigators, given he used to control an oil company. This led
to more alarm bells going off – will this be a parable about looking after the
environment and pointing fingers at likely polluters? Yes, it is!
The film sets its stall out early on with the ‘Son’
character starting a tuneless song in which he’s soon joined with Shannon and ‘Mother’
(Tilda Swinton) together with Captain Darling as the Butler as well as a friend
and a doctor. The ‘song’, as it was, was basically just a string of narrative
set to a forgettable tune, sung by people who are clearly better actors than
they are singers.
The son has lived his whole life in the bunker and knows
only of the outside world what he learns from his family and their archive of
press cuttings and books. Mother claims she used to be a ballerina and curates
a large number of classic artworks.
Things bump along for a while before a teenage black girl is
found in one of the bunker’s tunnels. The group initially try to scare her off
but soon she is welcomed into the fold with her wide-eyed interest being the
filter through which we can see this world. The film drags on for an interminable
two and a half hours as they group carry out safety drills, preform plays, make
animal noises and discuss how best to fart.
From an interesting premise the film is so dull and fails to
be enlivened by the most forgettable set of songs you’ll ever hear. There is no
reason why this is a musical, and the plot and character development isn’t
helped by people launching into yet another song every ten minutes or so.
We learn slightly more about the characters as the film
lists along and there is no surprise when the Son and the incomer girl start to
bond. They are clearly the last vestige of hope in a shattered world, and we
can only hope that their future adventures are undocumented.
I tried hard to like this film and stayed stoically to the end.
I wasn’t rewarded with anything memorable however, and felt it was just like ‘Fallout’
with all the good elements stripped away by so many scavengers.
THE Tag Line : Thank God – It’s The End! 35%
