With most of the mainstream releases out of the way it's time to look at a few oddball features from the past year. So it's off to Netflix we go to take a look at what is out there on the fringes. It's been a strange year in which it feels like there have been more Stephen King adaptations than anything else but at the same time releases like Okja have appeared out of nowhere to even out the levels of weird. It has to be said, I'm pretty happy with that sort of mixture.
I DON'T FEEL AT HOME IN THIS WORLD ANYMORE (2017)
So beyond being the winner of this year's most unwieldy title, this is also probably the most eccentric release of 2017. While it's essentially a crime thriller about a woman trying to get back at the lowlifes who burgled her house, there's not a lot else here that follows a conventional plot format. Ruth (Melanie Lynskey) is a jaded nursing assistant who sees death and despair all around her as people behave like animals and generally have no manners or respect for one another in her hospital or in her local neighbourhood. After her grandma's silver wear is stolen she turns to local resident Tony, (Elijah Wood) an outlandish character who's fascination with karma and martial arts may be useful in her quest for justice.
Of course this is the sort of tale that never follows through with any kind of obvious narrative structure beyond the basics, as they first find who has been buying stolen property, then the fence who is selling it, until they reach the crooks themselves. It's an unpredictable story outside these logical developments, one that is full of awkward dialogue, unhelpful side characters, and sudden spates of violence. Ruth just wants people to stop being shitty to each other, and her naive attitude causes a few problems along the way for herself and others. It's dark but often humorous, and it has a lot of personality. As a drama or a black comedy there's a lot to enjoy, making this one of the best releases this year.
4/5
GERALD'S GAME (2017)
Another story with a simple premise but a not so obvious narrative path is one of the latest Stephen King adaptations, which finds a married couple trying to spice up their relationship with disastrous results. Without spoiling too much Jessie (Carla Gugino) and Gerald (Bruce Greenwood) take a trip away to try and make things more interesting in their love life, but things quickly go awry leaving Jessie alone, cuffed by both hands to their bed. The immediate issues of starvation or dying from dehydration are some of the most dramatic problems, as she tries to figure out how she can get out of this predicament. However there are also some uninvited guests in the area that cause problems as things escalate.
Beyond the suspense of a (mostly) believable survival tale, which is both engaging and gross when it needs to be, there's a whole other thematic story going in Jessie's mind as she has flashbacks to memories of her childhood. There's a lot of time spent with characterisation as she recalls her abusive father, her unhappy marriage, and faces up to parts of her past that have been buried all these years. It also utilises a lot of sanity twisting visuals as she talks to herself and imagines ways to escape, leaving a sense of unease when it becomes unclear what is real. There's an epilogue that feels a bit on the nose in terms of "facing your fears" but I get what they were going for. It just could have been done more succinctly without falling into long, awkward monologues after so much visual storytelling in an effective confined space. But otherwise this is a taught, well made thriller with great performances and a few moments of real dread and horror.
4/5
1922 (2017)
Our second adaption of a Stephen King story is more straightforward but just as compelling, in a classic case of a guilty conscience fuelling despair and madness. Wilfred (Thomas Jane) is a Nebraskan farmer working the land with his son, who discovers that his wife Arlette (Molly Parker) wants to sell up and open a store in Omaha. Because of her legal stake she wants to use her position to get away from all this and give the farm to a big slaughterhouse company, but Wilfred has no plans to leave and be part of city life. It's told as part of a confession Wilfred is writing several years later, so it comes as no surprise that he murdered her to avoid starting over. However as things are recalled one piece at a time there are plenty of engrossing moments throughout.
A lot of this involves how his son Hank (Dylan Schmid) is involved with the crime, and the kind of emotional trickery Wilfred employs to keep him in line. Things of course all go badly wrong as his scheme unravels and life on the farm slowly gets worse. There are a few great moments of horror, some that are supernatural in appearance, and others that involve rats. Lots of rats. The visual style of the film lends itself well to a curse coming over Wilfred and there's an effective use of stark cold weather and decaying property to convey this kind of morbid atmosphere. It's an almost entirely bleak and humourless story, but it's effective and tightly constructed.
4/5
THE POLKA KING (2017)
Lastly, let's take a look at crime of another kind entirely in an adaptation of a real life story involving music, small town business ventures, and lots of investment fraud. Jan Lewan (Jack Black) is a Polish American singer living in Pennsylvania while trying to make ends meet working in a gift shop and in just about any other job he can get. Things are tough, and he comes up with the idea of an investment fund so that all his local fans can support his band and his future ideas. How can he give them such good interest rates? What are they investing in? Who knows, he isn't thinking that far ahead and they don't ask. As things go on this becomes more illegal and more outlandish, resulting in schemes involving beauty pageants and tours of Europe to visit the Pope.
It's an enjoyably silly comedy caper from the weird Polka music to Black's performance, and all the strange goings on involving Jan's friend Mickey (Jason Schwartzman) and his foul tempered mother-in-law Barb (Jacki Weaver). The only issue is that this feels a little too cute for a story about stealing money from elderly people, despite the whole underdog American dream style plot. For a story based on a documentary it could have been darker and more in depth. There are echoes of Bernie which had a more sympathetic central character and a better sense of the real life events involved. However despite these set backs this is still an entertaining tale, even if you have to try and just take things at face value in places.
3/5
