Genre: Dark Comedy
Director: Joel & Ethan Coen
Writer: Chad Taylor
Based on the 2014 Swedish film
Cast: Cate Blanchett, Jon Hamm, Oscar Isaac, Penelope Cruz, Justin Theroux, Rachel Brosnahan, Billy Magnussen
Plot: On Christmas morning, upper-class couple Adam (Jon Hamm) and Elisabeth Robinson (Cate Blanchett) inform their two young children that the family is going on a Hawaiian vacation in the coming weeks. On the first day at the resort, the family take in the sun’s rays and the aesthetic beauty that surrounds them. That night, Adam and Elisabeth have dinner with the two other couples they are vacationing with. Charlie (Oscar Issac) and Camille (Penelope Cruz) are next-door neighbors of the Robinsons and the couples have become close friends. Todd (Justin Theroux) is a college buddy of Adam’s and they now are partners in a law firm. A serial monogamist, he’s been with current girlfriend Christine (Rachel Brosnahan), a bartender 15 years his younger, for two years now.
Later on in the night, the couples split up by gender and explore the resort. The men go to a bar and discuss their love lives - including Todd admitting he might have found "the one". As the women drink at a club, Camille is openly flirtatious with Boyd (Billy Magnussen), a well-dressed Yuppie type. The flirtation escalates quickly and the two end up having sex in the club’s bathroom. Elisabeth and Christine are shocked but act as if it’s none of their business.
On the next morning, Adam and Elisabeth have breakfast with their kids at one of the resort’s high-class restaurants. In the middle of the meal, the phones of every patron in the dining room start to sound an alarm. Before either Robinson can even get to their phone, one fellow traveler yells “OH MY GOD!” and slowly (but yet immediately) chaos begins to ensue. Elisabeth finally gets to her phone which warns that a nuclear missile is headed to Hawaii and to seek shelter immediately. A 90-second long take of the dining room follows: a car crashes into a light pole outside, families huddle together and start praying, Elisabeth’s first move is to take her kids under her arms and alleviate their panic as Adam scurries out of the scene completely, a man pillages abandoned meals (effectively stress-eating his fears away). The take ends with everyone receiving a second alert saying it was false alarm, and tensions being relieved within the room (including Adam returning to the table).
Later that day, Adam and Elisabeth have drinks poolside with Charlie and Camille. They discuss the frenzy from earlier in the day and the brief moments of terror they found. When Elisabeth recounts to the dining room experience, she points out Adam’s disappearance. She switches to Spanish mid-conversation (something she knows both understand) to describe her disdain with the situation and the reverberating shock that decision has left on her. Adam, annoyed by Elisabeth’s tone and the usage of language he doesn’t understand, denies leaving the table and is incessant about his continued presence in the dining room. The conversation ends awkwardly.
When Elisabeth and Camille go for a walk on the beach the next morning, they briefly run into Boyd. It becomes immediately obvious that he does not recognize either one of them and must have been blacked out during their encounter nights before. Sara recounts to Elisabeth how her and Charlie reacted to the missile warning: Charlie quickly confessed that he has relapsed with his gambling addiction but that he truly loves her and she responded by telling him about her hook-up the night before but that she also truly loves him. Despite how normal they were acting yesterday, things have been painstakingly awkward for the couple ever since.
Elisabeth and Adam host Todd and Christine that night. When Adam leaves the room to put the kids to bed, Elisabeth brings up the incident. Adam angrily listens from the bedroom door. While their guests are both stunned by the story, Todd comes to the defensive of his friend by reasoning that we are not ourselves in the face of danger. Adam re-enters the room and again denies the accusations. Seeking to break the tension, Christine says that Todd would probably do the same thing in that situation. Todd is deeply offended.
On the last morning, Adam and Elisabeth have a conversation before the kids wake up. He admits to her that he is angry at himself for his actions and his ineffective parenting, in general. He worries his momentary panic is going to haunt him for the rest of his life. He starts crying hysterically as she tries to quiet him down. The children cry together in their bedroom, overhearing their parents argue.
Adam and Elisabeth take the kids to the beach one last time. Elisabeth, seeking a moment of solitude with nature, ventures farther into the ocean than the rest. A storm rapidly approaches seemingly out of nowhere and the waters start to become violent. Although Adam and the kids get to shore, he notices Elisabeth is struggling. After ensuring that the kids are safely away from the waters, he tells them to stay where they are and goes back out into sea to rescue Elisabeth. The camera stays on the worried children during this whole scene, until Adam emerges with Elisabeth in his arms 2 minutes later. They hug as a family and evacuate the beach.
The film ends with everyone waiting in the airport terminal. While the kids weave in and out of the picture playing tag, all three couples sit in complete silence – everyone staring off into different places.
No comments:
Post a Comment