very strong ending. A+ on the ending alone. kinda wish that there was about 30% less exposition (i felt like everything that was happening was very obvious and clearly spelled out, and then there was an entire episode where they just literally said all the plot and themes). i also wish that they had spent at least a little bit of time developing at least some anti- or soft-determinist philosophy. there is so much determinism, and then when the plot hook comes it doesn’t feel like there is any precedent established in the very heavily-developed themes of the film…when she’s pushing the pen around, c’mon, that was a perfect opportunity.
i will also say, and this is going to sound like a bit of an asshole critique, but the story of a quantum computer that can know all based on data analysis, it’s a bit of an obvious story. it’s good, it’s intriguing, and it’s well enough told, but it’s a very simple & obvious concept. the ending adds some complexity, though.
the thing that i liked least about this were the performances, across the board. idk why he thought that pseudo-bressonian affectless (it’s not really bressonian, it’s not really “affectless,” it’s more like everyone is in a state of shock) was the way to go. this was by far the most annoying part of the whole thing. again, i’m going to sound like a huge prick here, but i wonder if it’s because alex garland is less of a filmmaker and more of a writer; and directing actors to perform in that style is more manageable. it’s easier to predict the aesthetic effect of a performance if you just clamp it down and limit it as much as possible.
anyway good stuff. cool music. looking forward to seeing Men.