How to Be Alone (2019) User Reviews

Made 11 minutes feel like an hour

[erik-mcland · 5/10 · 19 April 2019]

The title sums it up, would have been better without the monologue playing over the whole thing. Just my opinion though.

great visuals

[wumbi · 5/10 · 5 October 2021]

Great visuals but not much else, I don't see the point of it all.

Glossy and visually striking in its design, but not much below the hood despite the potential

[bob the moo · 2 June 2019]

From one of the creators of Stranger Things comes this short film which looks at mental illness and how paranoia, anxiety, and depression all manifest themselves into one night alone in a large apartment. Or at least, this is what it should have been, but instead it is about how access to resources (money, skills, talent) can make something look great but isn't a replacement for a good film. There has been much criticism of this that it is superficial and empty, but actually I think the problem is that it squanders what it has in the writing. In the detail of the plot is a great raw story with a basis in mental illness, and a horror story acting as a way for those that don't have this challenge, but this doesn't come out.

In fact the film is more frustrating that all of what it could have been is on display, but that it never does anything with it. The gloss makes this more impacting, because you see how strong the other aspects are, so the way that the other aspects are so well done just makes it more striking that the core is not. That said, it is polished, glossy, and very well produced, so I can see it doing good business with the general internet user - but the lack of heart and core strength really limited it for me.

How to Be Bored (mostly)

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 2 July 2019]

"How to Be Alone" is an American English-language movie from 2019, so relatively new still and the writer and director here is Kate Trefry. Given its her first directorial effort ever, i think the camera work is pretty solid. However, the script did not really win me over. I felt as if they were trying to pack too much perhaps in these 13 minutes we have here. That's why I also think that if it wasn't for slightly famous lead actress Maika Monroe then this film would be mostly forgotten and not racking up thousands, let alone hundreds of thousands views on Youtube. It's basically a one-person show for Monroe and she does okay with what she's given. But I never really felt bad for her or cared for her feelings when she rushed from one anxiety to the next really and lack of self confidence and wondering what her boyfriend even sees in her is just one of many many you will find in here. The little funny(?) plot twist towards the end with the two not being alone (though not traditionally as you may expect in a horror movie) was clearly intended in a way that it could make you forget about most of the mediocrities before that, but I don't think that's how it went. At least not for me. This movie dragged way too much for a film that is easily shorter than 15 minutes. So as a whole, I give this one a thumbs-down and while occasional promise is there for Trefry, I think she still needs to step things up if she wants a long and successful career. Watch something else instead.

Underwhelming and poorly paced Wannabe Horror

[mattfallstoearth · 1/10 · 18 December 2019]

If there is a problem with the short format not giving authors enough time to develop characters and scenarios, the flip side is it also makes those films with nothing to tell all the more tellingly boring and underwhelming. This is one of those films. Poor.

Loved it

[ergeorgiev-31623 · 10/10 · 17 August 2019]

This short movie is a true masterpiece. It captured and presented crippling anxiety very well. If I never had panic attacks, I wouldn't have been able to relate to it as deeply as I did. I probably would have thought it's another short movie what I can't fully grasp the having of. Being able to understand made me feel special and understood, which put a positive spin on anxiety. Loved it. For anyone suffering, please don't hide it like she does (not from your close ones at least). There's loads of support out there, you just have to find it. I would like to thank my dad, mom and grannies for dealing with my calls at 3 in the morning, it's the best support I could've hoped for.

a portrait

[Kirpianuscus · 22 March 2019]

....of loneliness, anxiety, mental illness. Simple, precise, giving a good story and nice performances. And, especially, questions, using a well crafted monologue and too familiar fears. A woman - alone in house. Thoughts. And hypothesis. And the return of the husband. The wise use of ambiguity. And not the expected answer. Because it is a good story. The happy end is the source of last effort for seduce the public. Not a case, but , maybe , a sort of confussion.