Upstream Color 2013
I had never heard of this movie, but during one of Dollar Tree’s periodic blu-ray sales, this title was probably the best reviewed of the bunch. I was unable to find it any of my local stores (at least on blu-ray, I saw the DVD at a couple of stores) as it became my white whale. I finally was able to do a cross-country trade by mail with someone who found it but couldn’t find a movie that was available in my area.
So going in, all I knew is that it was an indie movie that critics generally liked. It is very much an arthouse movie, not intended for mass audiences. As I watched it I thought that maybe it was a film school project that started as a really intriguing short film and the writer/director/cinematographer/editor/composer/star was able to get funding for a full length version. It turns out it is actually his second feature film. It is probably best not to try to explain any of it. It is beautifully shot, weird, macabre, and mostly unfathomable. The performance by the lead actress, Amy Seimetz, is very good as she reacts to what is going on around her, but the dialogue scenes aren’t always as good, which is why maybe there aren’t very many. It is certainly worth watching, especially as maybe a date movie where you want to have something to talk about afterwards. The Wikipedia article about the movie does tell you what was going on, but don’t even count on that to make a lot of sense. I kind of doubt the writer even knew what it was really about, just shooting scenes and fitting in pieces of a psychological thriller in where they would fit. It didn’t completely work for me, but I like being mystified and it was certainly interesting to watch. Still, there is no real payoff here, so I can’t give it more than a high B+, which is all I really hope for with a movie that cost a dollar plus postage.
Written: 26 Oct 2019
Owned on: Blu-ray, DVD