Joshua Safdie's The Pleasure of Being Robbed is a micro-budget piece of filmmaking which follows the exploits of Eleonore, a petty thief who commits small crimes of theft wherever she finds herself in New York City. The Pleasure of Being Robbed has the meandering quality of filmmaking that is sure to frustrate some viewers, but I can appreciate the approach when done well, as Eleonore's journey feels grounded in realism, even if aspects of her journey at times teeter on the fringes of believably. This is a raw piece of filmmaking that has a slice of life type approach, and at only 70 minutes it never overstays its welcome either. While Eleonore is a character who causes a lot of harm for the victims she steals from, Joshua Safdie has a delivered a film itself that shows no judgment, simply showing a character whose curiosity seems to lead her into trouble. Nothing Eleanor does is mean-spirited or intended to do any harm to the victims, and the performance by Eleonore Hendricks perfectly captures this, with her giggling and mannerisms exuding that of a innocence, someone who clearly doesn't mean harm. The Pleasure of Being Robbed is adrift for most of its running time but towards the end of the film the filmmakers' intentions come a little more into focus, juxtaposing Eleonore's behavior with that of little children on a playground, illustrating her innocence and how her compulsive curiosity is what gets her into trouble. Featuring a very memorable dream sequence that entails Eleonore playing with a bear at the zoo, Joshua Safdie shows an ability to make smart creative directorial choices throughout The Pleasure of Being Robbed, singling him out as a filmmaker to keep ones eyes on.
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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