It is rare that I watch a film and take absolutely nothing away from the experience. Usually there is a theme, character, performance, setting, thrill, or something to point towards and say "I enjoyed that". "The Humans" was an exception to that rule for me, as I found almost no sense to be made from it or no other redeeming value upon its conclusion.
For a very basic overview, "The Humans" takes place during a family Thanksgiving dinner. Brigid (Beanie Feldstein) has just moved to a dumpy New York apartment with partner Richard (Steven Yeun) and they play host to her sister (Amy Schumer), father (Richard Jenkins), mother (Jayne Houdyshell), and grandmother (June Squibb). As so often happens around the family dinner table, old wounds are picked at and new ones are opened, leading to a little bit of drama from each character.
I was drawn to this movie because of its A24 studio roots, as well as the fact that I usually enjoy small, dialogue-heavy ensemble pieces. Unfortunately, I found all the characters here to be so generally unlikeable or uninteresting that it was difficult for me to form any emotional attachments. The dialogue is also so matter-of-fact and understated that no significant stakes or drama ever springs forth. While not "documentary style" in any sense, there is far too much hum-drum reality here and far too little reason to engage a viewer's attention.
But the biggest head-scratcher present in "The Humans"? The decision to fill the flick with long shots of the decrepit apartment, play up its claustrophobic atmosphere, and feature spots of certain characters doing very weird things--and then never pay a single one of those angles off in any meaningful way. Clearly the filmmakers were trying to introduce a horror/suspense angle to the overall tone, but then the whole thing just ends without any payoff to those setups. Exceedingly strange execution, to say the least.
So, the combination of lackluster/droll conversations (in a movie where success/failure will hinge on such moments) and an attempt at a moody atmosphere that leads nowhere is a formula for disaster. Like I said, rarely do I finish a film feeling completely devoid of any meaning taken or emotions felt from the experience, but that was the case here. Only the pretense of it trying to take itself seriously kept this from the dreaded one-star rating.
For a very basic overview, "The Humans" takes place during a family Thanksgiving dinner. Brigid (Beanie Feldstein) has just moved to a dumpy New York apartment with partner Richard (Steven Yeun) and they play host to her sister (Amy Schumer), father (Richard Jenkins), mother (Jayne Houdyshell), and grandmother (June Squibb). As so often happens around the family dinner table, old wounds are picked at and new ones are opened, leading to a little bit of drama from each character.
I was drawn to this movie because of its A24 studio roots, as well as the fact that I usually enjoy small, dialogue-heavy ensemble pieces. Unfortunately, I found all the characters here to be so generally unlikeable or uninteresting that it was difficult for me to form any emotional attachments. The dialogue is also so matter-of-fact and understated that no significant stakes or drama ever springs forth. While not "documentary style" in any sense, there is far too much hum-drum reality here and far too little reason to engage a viewer's attention.
But the biggest head-scratcher present in "The Humans"? The decision to fill the flick with long shots of the decrepit apartment, play up its claustrophobic atmosphere, and feature spots of certain characters doing very weird things--and then never pay a single one of those angles off in any meaningful way. Clearly the filmmakers were trying to introduce a horror/suspense angle to the overall tone, but then the whole thing just ends without any payoff to those setups. Exceedingly strange execution, to say the least.
So, the combination of lackluster/droll conversations (in a movie where success/failure will hinge on such moments) and an attempt at a moody atmosphere that leads nowhere is a formula for disaster. Like I said, rarely do I finish a film feeling completely devoid of any meaning taken or emotions felt from the experience, but that was the case here. Only the pretense of it trying to take itself seriously kept this from the dreaded one-star rating.