As someone who has always had a natural proclivity towards watching any end-of-the-world disaster film put in front of him, I'm happy to report that Ric Roman Waugh's Greenland did not disappoint. It's one of the better efforts I've seen in recent memory, featuring a ground-up approach to storytelling that is economically advantageous but also extremely effective at evoking the necessary tension, unease, and uncertainty that makes the better efforts in the subgenre enjoyable. Most films of this ilk aim to provide context from a top-down approach, with governmental authorities routinely being a major character among the ensemble to better contextualize the threat. The character device is meant to exhibit an aura of insurmountability through association with authority. Well, Greenland rejects this idea, building its entire story around everyday citizens who navigate the chaos in an attempt to survive. The best and worst aspects of humanity are both portrayed throughout its narrative. Not all the moments work, per se, but Greenland has one scene particularly that was quite shocking in its effectiveness at illustrating that violence towards others is always a choice. Formally, the use of handheld feels substantive due to it being tethered to the film's on-the-ground notions of storytelling, effectively evoking an immersive experience while never feeling deployed for no reason outside of cheap theatrics. Greenland is a personal journey of one family as it attempts to survive. It's economically made, self-contained, and a welcome entry in this subgenre
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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