The Worst Film Ever

Simply Perfect

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Just read the titles of the soundtracks from james clements in chronic order.

"Wayne was doing really weird things with his eyeballs. Wayne's dad was a Marine. It turns out he was doing Morse code with his eyes. He was saying, "SOS, SOS, SOS, SOS., over and over and over."Perhaps I'm a weird personality. That's the reason why I really enjoy movies like "Bottom of the World". Contrarious, difficult to understand, confusing and slightly disturbing. As the denouement kicked in and the inextricable story became a little bit clearer, I was totally stunned. It was undeniably clear to me that I wanted to watch this weird movie again one day. Only to discover other clues. Clues that escaped me. I fully realize that most people who saw this movie, won't like it at all. Many will see it as a waste of time. A meaningless, dumb film with an incomprehensible story-line.To be honest, I had that same feeling after the first 15 minutes. We see Scarlett (Jena Malone) and Alex (Douglas Smith) cruising across the US. Two youngsters in an old, American car, on their way to L.A. and enduring the scorching heat of the desert. Where do they actually come from? What goal are they aiming for? And where are they exactly? I had no idea. They decide to spend the night in a strange looking hotel, with an impressive and magical looking lobby, while the part where the guestrooms are situated, resembles that of a cheap motel. And then one absurd fact follows after another. A local television channel with a pseudo preacher (Ted Levine) proclaiming religious messages. A weirdo who observes their room at night. And then Scarlett seems unable to leave town without feeling as if her head explodes. And finally she disappears.And then there's even bigger confusion when Alex wakes up in a seemingly different life as a married, well earning husband. Even more weird. The woman living next door is Scarlett. From here on, the story lines seem to twist around another like cooked spaghetti and there are several facts that refer to what's real. I'm not such a big fan of films full of symbolism and metaphysical states. The makers tried to find a proper balance between reality and a sort of dream phase. In the end I was wondering which personage actually exists and which personage originated from a subconscious mind. I assume that everything has to do with a guilt feelings caused by an unacceptable act from the past. (Think this is a hazy description? Well that's intentionally.)Jena Malone is no Scarlett Johansson, but in a way she succeeded in looking sensual and seductive. On the other hand, she also appears to have perverse traits and you start to question her mental health. The story she tells about her nephew and the way she treated him, isn't something a mentally healthy person could come up with. Even if its purpose was just to shock Alex. Personally, I thought Douglas Smith acted rather soft and absent. And wasn't he a bit too young to be a married guy? At first I thought it was his mother in the kitchen. All in all, a fascinating film that leaves you behind with more questions than answers.More reviews here : http://bit.ly/2qtGQoc

Here's what I took: The anecdote of her cousin Wayne that she tells in the beginning is true. At first I wrote the story off as a simple and needless tale based used for shock value (poor writing), but it's so over the top and grotesque that as a viewer, it's so ridiculous that you don't want to believe it, or even regard it as a necessary bit of information because she tells it as a fake story to make Alex squirm. So you forget about it, because at this point, Scarlett is depicted as facetious and maybe a bit unstable. Jumping to the end, you find out that she really committed the heinous acts that she describes in the beginning. Alex is a part of her subconscious, the fact that he has developed sentience within her own delusion is a deeper part of her subconscious that is condemning her as she is unable to process her own guilt (EG her heavy alcoholism). It's a very interesting way to tell a story, as she takes the backseat in the focal point of the story that is 100% in her own head. Now whether she is "delusional", or there are actual spiritual forces at work within the two realms of Alex's initial reality, and the second one where he is her neighbor is sort of up to interpretation. Notice the scene where Paige, (Alex's wife) is counting peas in the kitchen, and it immediately swaps to her holding a glass of milk, as if it's a glitch, this is a tell that he is not in the realm of true reality when they knew each other, or when they're neighbors. Alex is the embodiment of her guilt and shame and also the judgement of maybe a supernatural entity, so he isn't necessarily a person, more of a shifting presence. Alex never existed, she conjured him up.

Like another reviewer said it's not for everyone. He couldn't be more right. It's not for everyone, especially not for me. I love mysteries that you have to try to solve before the end of the movie. But here it isn't a mystery. Or maybe it is but I honestly couldn't be bothered knowing what it is. The beginning is promising but then it's all going downhill. The story doesn't make much sense, and maybe for somebody that like to think a lot when he's watching a movie it does make sense. I'm not one of those. I like stories with a beginning, a middle and an end, easy stories to follow. Movies like this one are just a waste of time and money to me. The actors are not bad, the story is though. There is not much more to say about Bottom Of The World.