It’s not hard to see Elijah Wood these days, but there are times when it seems like he fell off the map at one point or another. While a lot of us might remember back to the days of Frodo and The Lord of the Rings, it’s hard not to since that was one of his most defining roles, it’s even harder to see that he hasn’t really aged much in all that time. Seriously, the guy doesn’t look as though he’s aged more than a few years since those movies, though he’s gotten a little creepier looking, almost like another version of Jeff Gillooly, or at least the version that Sebastian Stan played on I, Tonya. What we can get from the trailer though is even creepier since it seems to give us just enough to go on without really going into too much detail. What we can tell however is that it’s bound to be one messed-up movie that masquerades as a son trying to get to know his father. A very naive son at that since it’s a little too obvious that his father is a bit of a nut that doesn’t have a lot of regard for other people and doesn’t hang around with a lot of other people, at least not in a positive sense.
At this time it’s kind of hard to know what to say about the movie other than to think that it’s going to be a story about self-revelation since Elijah Wood’s character is definitely looking for a bond but has no idea who his father really is. That’s evident enough since he says as much in the trailer while speaking to his mom on the phone, and the awkward moments between them only confirm it. His father is a rather secretive and demented individual, possibly a sociopath, that looks as though he lives alone and is not entirely balanced when it comes to his mental health. But at the same time he appears as a hardened old man even though it does look as though a stiff breeze could push him down. As the father says however his ex doesn’t talk much about him, and there’s likely a reason why since in one scene it looks as though his toilet leads down to a secret chamber that we don’t get to see much of but could be pivotal to the movie. In any case this does tend to make a person think that the father is someone that’s far more dangerous than we’re seeing at this time since treating your own son this way, even without having known him for years, speaks of the tendencies you might find in a sociopath. Jordan Crucchiola of Vulture has more to say on this.
The funny thing is that the whole setup is that the father invited the son to his home, but seems kind of hesitant to tell him why. Maybe there are actual feelings getting in the way or maybe he’s thinking that he’s slipping for having done such a thing, it’s hard to know. But the whole gist of it is that the son was invited and is being actively tormented, perhaps to harden him or perhaps for the father’s amusement, it’s hard to say. It could be that he wants his son to take after him, continue something in his stead, or for another heinous reason that we might not get to find out until the movie releases in 2020. All that is evident is that this is going to be a somewhat disturbing movie and it’s likely that people are going to find it appealing on a few different levels since….reasons. Ever notice how people tend to find some movies appealing for the simple act that they’re ‘challenging’ while others that are actively trying to entertain them are ‘pedestrian’? It’s a giant guessing game as to who’s going to like what when it comes to movies, just like it’s always been, but this one does appear as though it’s going to be something that will divide fans just a little since it’s likely that some folks will look at it and say that it’s kind of crazy, maybe TOO crazy for them, while others will love it for the same reasons.
It is kind of nice to see Elijah Wood making a splash again, but if anyone has ever noticed his characters usually aren’t seen as strong or very forceful when it comes to movies. Maybe it’s by choice or maybe it’s typecasting, but quite often Elijah plays the part of a person that’s quite a bit weaker than his counterparts in whatever movie he’s in. That doesn’t appear to change in this movie as from the start he looks like a rather weak individual that’s emotionally fragile and physically weak, but we could be in for a surprise when the movie comes out.
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