Us (2013)

Such a frustrating disappointment

Simply Perfect

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Blistering performances.

This is a really bad film. It is slow, with lots of filler scenes, lots of slow moments and is ultimately pointless. People use these terms interchangeably, but they are different things and this film is guilty of all of them.Scenes that last too long? Check. Scenes that add nothing to the story? Check. Subplots that are unexplored? Sure. The whole story lacking a good structure? Yep. A point to this thing? Nopes.There is a graphic sex scene in the beginning that adds nothing to the story. When I mean graphic, I mean we are centimeters away from actual pornography. Yes, it's realistic, as realistic as they can go without it being actual intercourse, but what's the point? Oh, it's to be edgy.If you want to be edgy, dear, some folks have already added real intercourse in their films. This is as edgy as a temporary tattoo.If you really wanted to go with edgy, you could've not simulated the final scene on the floor (you know what I'm talking about). That would've disturbed people, but this film didn't want to go too far. It wants the coolness of the tattoo without the commitment.I'm not advocating for these things. Edgy scenes are no substitute for a good story.Here, there is no good story. This film unintentionally becomes the story of three mental patients. This is not intended by the script, but this is the result of the director's choices.Krister is a control freak. Everything has to be his way. He controls his girlfriend's every move, her friends, whether she goes out, if she comes late, if she smokes, etc. Ida is a mentally-retarded adult child. She has no personality, no style, no taste, no friends, no identity, no hobbies.Linda is also a mentally-retarded adult who is a teenager in her thirties. Hobbies include clubbing, promiscuity, drinking, drugs, etc. I'm not judging her or saying that these are bad things. She's an adult. But as an adult, she has no friends and her only friend is Ida, a mentally-retarded adult child.You see, because the director wastes our time with pointless stuff, they forgot to give these characters depth. So Krister is presented as a loser because he has no friends. That is intentional. Ida even tells him that "at least I have friends." But Linda has no friends either. That's why she's hanging out with Ida, someone who is clearly not her age (mentally). Linda is (mentally) 14-15 years old. Ida is 8 or 9. Ida is at a developmental stage where she copies Linda. She quotes phrases from her, she listens to her music, she goes out with her and does the same things she does. She listens to a CD from Linda even though they have Spotify.How is Linda not a loser too?At the end of the day, Krister has a girlfriend, Linda has no one. Krister has Ida most of the time. Linda has her only on the weekends, sometimes. Ida is far from the perfect girlfriend for Krister. She's lacking in the mental/personality department, but she's attractive and can bear him children, which is what he wants. So we know what he sees in her. But what does Linda see in Ida? She has a dumb sidekick she call say nasty things to?Linda is a nasty character who meddles in the life and relationship of a mentally unstable person when she's supposed to be a friend. Yes, Linda doesn't like Krister, but is there someone in particular she likes? She is a promiscuous person meddling in a couple's life. Is Ida better off living like Linda? Is Ida better off with someone else? Would Linda stop meddling if Krister were someone else? Nopes. Misery likes company and some people hate seeing stable couples.The director could've spent one minute showing us that Linda has her own life, her own friends, but missing that opportunity made this film what it is. So Linda looks like a loser, trying to break off a couple so that she can have her sidekick all for herself. Wow.This is not a story of a couple and their struggles. This is a story of a man (Krister) and a woman (Linda) who don't like each other but have to share or fight for the attention of a retarded girl (Ida).

The clue to this movie is the title, 'US'. A young female school teacher Ida, (Anna Åström), feels intimidated by a teenage boy student of 'Middle Eastern Appearance', Tonårskille (Kevin Vaz). She is protected by senior teacher, Krister (Gustaf Skarsgård). All her fears are projected onto 'The Other', Tonårskille as she misinterprets his meaning. But in the end it is her protector, Krister, who carries out the acts she has projected onto 'The Other'. I watched his movie just after reading "We need to talk about white people' by Amer Zahr. So I guess that directed my thinking. But good thing to think about 'US' rather than always focus on 'The Other' as the source of your fears.

Not bad, but quite disappointing. The movie builds up well, but then falls apart at the end. For the most part it was the story of a (potentially failed) relationship: the blissful courtship, the problem- free initial steps of living together, then the fraying at the edges as hitherto unseen flaws in the couples' characters are revealed, the frustration (why does she stay with him?), the intrigue (what will happen to them?). Then...an incredibly random and perverse ending.It was a good character study up until that strange conclusion, and went some way to answering the question "Why do beautiful, intelligent women go out with paranoid, controlling, obsessive-compulsive prudes?". Unfortunately the answer is that flattering to these beautiful, intelligent women.Decent performances from the two lead actors, Gustaf Skarsgaard and Anna Astrom. Astrom is incredibly beautiful.Sadly the soundtrack does not include Pearl Jam's "Better Man" and Joe Jackson's "Is she really going out with him?" as these would have been highly appropriate.

Grade school teachers Ida and Krister have a relationship that evolves from passionate love, through suffocation, into downright destructiveness. Although there are some scenes that feel mostly like filler, this film does a good job of portraying their downward spiral. An important supporting role (in fact one of just a few) is that of Linda - Ida's caring best friend, who acts as an important safety valve for her.It becomes clear very early in the story that Ida lacks a strong center, and that is the source of her troubles. She is automatically drawn to the more assertive Krister. Anna Åström's acting is mostly decent, although there is something slightly off about the way she delivers her lines. She is clearly the weakest member of the cast, although a few years of experience may iron out her imperfections. Anna Åström is achingly pretty and has a flawless body, like almost all young Swedish actresses. It's easy to wonder what Swedish film makers will do if they need to cast someone average looking, or even physically unattractive! Gustaf Skarsgård manages to avoid the drama school antics - that is to say, stage delivery - that often plagues the Swedish acting elite. He is a good actor, but his part could have been more chiseled out. I would like to have seen and felt more of the inner turmoil that must be the cause of Krister's sometimes erratic behavior. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Swedish film - Gustaf is the Brother of Alexander Skarsgård, best known for his part in the TV series 'True Blood'. Some English speakers may also remember Gustaf Skarsgård as the deranged boat-builder Floki from the history channel series 'Vikings'.Rebecca Ferguson is in my opinion the one who delivers the best performance in 'Vi'. Her character Linda can be a bit of a bitch, and her confrontations with Gustaf Skarsgård's character are the most intense and engaging scenes in the film. Until recently, my memories of Ferguson were limited to a couple of abysmal soap operas, but her stellar performance in the TV series "The White Queen" has redeemed her in my eyes, at least. It doesn't hurt that she's easy on the eyes, either. Remember what I wrote about Swedish actresses? The director manages to evoke a lot of atmosphere with very small means in a few scenes. But all in all, the scrip feels weak. This is especially true when it comes to the dialog in some places. The poor dialog and the strange lack of momentum in some parts of this film is what prevents it from being a really good one, instead of just average.There is graphic nudity and very realistic sex scenes in this film. They feel much more real life than a lot of the stuff you see coming from the US these days. A word of warning - small children may ask a few difficult to answer questions about some scenes in 'vi', especially toward the end.