Netflix Queue-rantine
“Quarantine” is a word that means many different things to many different people. Constantly being stuck at home fosters an environment of boredom for what seems like the wide majority of the population, and when people are bored, isolated and trapped at home they’re left to their own devices to entertain themselves. For me, unsurprisingly, that has culminated in a swift and thorough trounce through my Netflix queue, and I’m here with you to share some of my results so as to maybe help you overcome the monotony of being stuck at home.
Fighting the urge to succumb to Netflix’s overwhelming options and search through the plethora of intimidating choices only to end up rewatching The Office or That 70’s Show as I often do, I decided to finally try and watch all the movies I had been saving up until that point on My List. The first of these was the 2017 crime-thriller “Good Time.” This might be one of the most underappreciated movies I’ve ever seen. With a breakneck pace, a script that fills each frame with perfection on a technical and narrative level and grand acting all around (most especially from Robert Pattinson as the lead) there wasn’t a moment wasted on screen. If you need any reason to spend an hour and forty-one minutes with pure anxiety like I did, just go to Youtube and look up the first opening scene of this movie.
What could follow up one of the fastest-paced, heart-pumping, full-throttle films I’ve seen in my life? Oh, just a methodic family drama about handling a divorce, and no it’s not “Marriage Story”–though that is fantastic and you should watch it. Instead, the movie I’m referring to is much shorter, more lighthearted, and even a bit unnerving. I am of course talking about the 2005 film “The Squid and the Whale.” The charm in this movie is quite unmatched in its field, and it is entirely supported by the characters, all flawed and all real. The brutality that lives in the honesty shown in this movie and in those characters is what drives the narrative. You’re likely to relate to, or know someone like, one or more of the characters and as the story unfolds and you might not enjoy that tether. By the end of this movie, I felt cathartic but conflicted: I didn’t know if I even liked these characters anymore, but that’s what lends this movie its authenticity because in real life there are grey areas, people do things that make you view them differently, and ultimately I felt at peace concluding my chapter with the Berkman family.
The final movie I wish to talk about today is another departure from the previous two in that, above all else, it’s just plain fun. This isn’t to say there isn’t a complex narrative, or interesting characters, or ambiguity in the storytelling because all these elements are still present, but this movie strikes a tone of lighthearted silliness that isn’t matched by anything I’ve ever seen. I’m of course talking about the 2007 comedy “Scott Pilgrim vs The World.” This, among director Edgar Wright’s other films, is some of the best visual and auditory coordination for the sake of comedy in all of cinema. Some visual gags cannot be beat, even upon subsequent rewatches. The soundtrack is perfect and sets the tone from the opening credits, and this is important to note too, with music being one of the largest components to the plot. Honestly, throw in a show-tune here or there and one big dance number and this could be a musical given the right viewing. Casting in this movie could not be better either, I cannot imagine anyone other than Michael Cera as the titular Scott Pilgrim. Ultimately if you just want something to alleviate the dread of the current day, flip this on before Netflix takes it off.