something extremely uncanny going on with this film. the performances, which imo were operating on a similar (less exaggerated) level to Old and The Matrix 4, were weirdly downplayed. the entire dramatic structure of the film, all of the relationships between the three principle characters, were completely affectless and barely registered as real. i think it’s because the film was trying to be “subversive,” which was confirmed for me at the anti-climax of the film: moving characters along conventional narrative arcs, but also trying to downplay it and enhance the alienation. even on a visual level, the lighting was quite bright and flat, combining a lack of stylization with barely-perceptible, subconscious aesthetic choices (mostly seeming to relate to the performances and the narrative). overall the film was very weird and i was watching it was furrowed brow trying to figure out wtf was going on. another confirmation that the film is working on some kind of “uncanny” register was confirmed when i read that the card counting voiceovers were taken verbatim from a youtube video, lol.
ok but that said, the flashback / abu ghraib scenes, whatever the camera effect used, it was absolutely fucking incredible. i’ve never seen anything like it.