But it still has its flaws. Overall though, I enjoyed it and I'm glad I watched. It's a long way away from being a waste of my time, of which other reviewers accuse it.
This isn't exactly a comedy, although it does put its characters in some inherently comedic situations and it did make me laugh in places, at least in the first half of the film.
Karen Gillan is right at the centre of this film, even more so because she played two characters. I thought she was good. Her muted performance was appropriate to the tone of the film. Those reviewers who criticise her performance might perhaps think about the director of the film, who as the writer too must have known exactly what he wanted and would surely have directed her differently if he were unhappy. At lot was resting on her performance and I found it hard to take my eyes off her. Job done.
Something that I found oddly jarring was KG's American accent. If it had been filmed in the US with Americans cast in all the smaller parts, then this would have been fine. But, given that a lot of the smaller parts were filled by European actors who didn't even attempt an American accent. Maybe Karen's Inverness accent would have been a step too far. I kinda think that if they decided that she couldn't speak in her native accent then an American accent was probably a better choice than her doing an English accent. But it's a shame that she couldn't be Scottish.
So, that ending ... hehe. I'm still not sure who I think the survivor is. And I've watched it twice. I've read arguments for both. First thing to say ... if the director had wanted it to be more clear, he could have done that. But instead we have some clues and some abiguity. I admit I felt a bit cheated by the ending the first time I watched it, but after a second watch I'm OK with it. I do have an opinion on which the survivor was, but I'll keep you in suspense a little longer ;-)
Sarah's water was poisoned. That's undeniable I think. The big "S" and "D" on the two water bottles, the fact that the double just sipped and watched Sarah drink to make sure she had enough. Peter and Sarah's mother were in on this plan. When the survivor turned up at the football field for the duel, they were sat where they could hear the survivor say she was Sarah. They smiled back at her. We know they wanted the double to survive. So the only way they would be happy was if they knew that it was the plan for the double to say she was Sarah.
So from that point on, it's either the double pretending to be Sarah or it's Sarah pretending to be the double pretending to be Sarah.
I think the key is the poisoning. Poison was mentioned in Sarah's training. Her reaction at the time was "I should have thought of that." But she was not at all suspicious when her double encouraged her to drink the poisoned water. I can read this two ways: First, maybe it's just a bit of foreshadowing for the audience ... the poison photo being in the training and Sarah's reaction is supposed to establish that it's a blind spot of hers, so that it's no surprise that she falls for it at the end. But then I can also think that it's supposed to show that Sarah is well aware that she is drinking poisoned water at the end and has some plan to thwart being poisoned. Other reviewers have said this is what they think. I want to believe it too, but, there is absolutely nothing in the rest of the film to support it so I don't. So, I think the double survived.
Ultimately though, I'm not sure it matters. Whichever of them it was that breaks down and cries on the roundabout at the end, it's tragic. Trapped in a life you don't like, pretending to be someone else. That's true for both of them. If it's Sarah, she's pretending to be the double to her husband and mother. And if it's the double, she's pretending to be Sarah to everyone other than her husband and mother. Pretty bleak whichever it is.
Something else to consider is Sarah's cracked phone, which the survivor has at the end. And the fact that Sarah's mother calls it. But that can be explained if the double takes Sarah's phone after Sarah drops dead from the poison and puts her SIM in it. It's just not conclusive one way or the other.
Anything else I might bring up is even more tenuous.
If you made it this far, thank you and congratulations!
This isn't exactly a comedy, although it does put its characters in some inherently comedic situations and it did make me laugh in places, at least in the first half of the film.
Karen Gillan is right at the centre of this film, even more so because she played two characters. I thought she was good. Her muted performance was appropriate to the tone of the film. Those reviewers who criticise her performance might perhaps think about the director of the film, who as the writer too must have known exactly what he wanted and would surely have directed her differently if he were unhappy. At lot was resting on her performance and I found it hard to take my eyes off her. Job done.
Something that I found oddly jarring was KG's American accent. If it had been filmed in the US with Americans cast in all the smaller parts, then this would have been fine. But, given that a lot of the smaller parts were filled by European actors who didn't even attempt an American accent. Maybe Karen's Inverness accent would have been a step too far. I kinda think that if they decided that she couldn't speak in her native accent then an American accent was probably a better choice than her doing an English accent. But it's a shame that she couldn't be Scottish.
So, that ending ... hehe. I'm still not sure who I think the survivor is. And I've watched it twice. I've read arguments for both. First thing to say ... if the director had wanted it to be more clear, he could have done that. But instead we have some clues and some abiguity. I admit I felt a bit cheated by the ending the first time I watched it, but after a second watch I'm OK with it. I do have an opinion on which the survivor was, but I'll keep you in suspense a little longer ;-)
Sarah's water was poisoned. That's undeniable I think. The big "S" and "D" on the two water bottles, the fact that the double just sipped and watched Sarah drink to make sure she had enough. Peter and Sarah's mother were in on this plan. When the survivor turned up at the football field for the duel, they were sat where they could hear the survivor say she was Sarah. They smiled back at her. We know they wanted the double to survive. So the only way they would be happy was if they knew that it was the plan for the double to say she was Sarah.
So from that point on, it's either the double pretending to be Sarah or it's Sarah pretending to be the double pretending to be Sarah.
I think the key is the poisoning. Poison was mentioned in Sarah's training. Her reaction at the time was "I should have thought of that." But she was not at all suspicious when her double encouraged her to drink the poisoned water. I can read this two ways: First, maybe it's just a bit of foreshadowing for the audience ... the poison photo being in the training and Sarah's reaction is supposed to establish that it's a blind spot of hers, so that it's no surprise that she falls for it at the end. But then I can also think that it's supposed to show that Sarah is well aware that she is drinking poisoned water at the end and has some plan to thwart being poisoned. Other reviewers have said this is what they think. I want to believe it too, but, there is absolutely nothing in the rest of the film to support it so I don't. So, I think the double survived.
Ultimately though, I'm not sure it matters. Whichever of them it was that breaks down and cries on the roundabout at the end, it's tragic. Trapped in a life you don't like, pretending to be someone else. That's true for both of them. If it's Sarah, she's pretending to be the double to her husband and mother. And if it's the double, she's pretending to be Sarah to everyone other than her husband and mother. Pretty bleak whichever it is.
Something else to consider is Sarah's cracked phone, which the survivor has at the end. And the fact that Sarah's mother calls it. But that can be explained if the double takes Sarah's phone after Sarah drops dead from the poison and puts her SIM in it. It's just not conclusive one way or the other.
Anything else I might bring up is even more tenuous.
If you made it this far, thank you and congratulations!