Strange But True

source: Strange But True

Good concept, terrible execution. Wanna hear the recipe for this disaster? Here goes: 1. Make sure your characters are 0.0001mm thick. 2. Make sure you cast pretty models and at least 1 veteran class A actor. 3. Make sure your characters' actions make no sense, ever. 3-b. Make sure the middle age woman acts hysterical the whole time (and you should know I'm a middle age guy with an inevitable bias against middle age women... I can't even imagine how a sane woman will evaluate this idiotic impersonation of a divorced woman with a dead son) 4. Make sure to crap everything up even further with a blissfully idiotic and cringeworthy ending no sane person would be comfortable with.

This film tells the story of a woman who believes she carries the child of her dead boyfriend. The plot is mysterious to start with, and then becomes very engaging and captivating. I really feel for all the characters, including the mother, father, brother, the girlfriend and the girlfriend's neighbors. Who would have thought the plot takes such a dramatic turn and becomes so touching. I really enjoyed this film.

This is a good film. Very well made, believable in its own weird way and I recommend it to those patient enough to sit down and be told a story. I often have trouble suspending my disbelief, usually due to plot holes and silly irrational explanations for them. The director of this film managed to bypass all of that and craft a much finer movie that you're likely to find among the "made for Netflix" fare so common today. This is the mark of someone who will one day be directing Oscar quality material and I would bet on that. Zero spoilers here. The acting, cinematography, directing and score all very good.

This is newbie director Rowan Athale's second full length feature film (plus one short), and aside from a few technical errors and editing issues, he pretty much nailed it behind the camera and in directing his cast. The film is an adaptation of the novel (I haven't read it) of the same name by John Searles, turned into a screenplay by novice writer Eric Garcia. The pacing started out decent, then slowed down midway, and felt dragged out towards the end, that the 96 min run-time felt longer. I wasn't a fan of the non-climatic stretch of cross-cutting time lines, and I felt the story would've been better told in the proper order. Casting was excellent and all actors were convincing in their roles, especially Margaret Qualley, who was outstanding in her starring role. The cinematography was on point, and the score perfect for this type of film. For a low-budget B-grade film by unseasoned filmmakers, this was a surprisingly enjoyable noir-thriller about grief, belief and the things we keep hidden. It's a recommended watch and a well deserved 8/10 from me.

I'm writing this if you're someone, like I am, someone who reads the reviews, but skips over those reviews with spoiler alerts. The idea of how the girlfriend comes to find herself pregnant is definitely a stretch. But then again, if you were this girl, a girl who slept with one boyfriend, one time, and then found herself pregnant 4 years later with no explanation of how. You would try to rationalize the situation in every way you possible could. And yet, when nothing makes any real kind of sense, you'd then possibly look to the metaphysical for your answers, hence the title, "Strange But True." Here's my tip, because there are few of us (the viewers) who aren't grasping all this story's twists. You need to pay attention, because the ideas presented by the other characters, and how they think she became pregnant can seem a bit confusing. Pay special attention to the scenes in the basement, and especially to the scene where the wife of the kindly older guardian-ish couple is confronting her husband about his cigarette stash, "etc."

I cant believe half the people didnt get who the dad was. Nothing supernatural occurred, the old dude was drugging her with rohypnol and raping her. Pretty dark stuff. I enjoyed it all until the mom and dad showed up at the old creeps house and suddenly seemed unable to use their brains. The slow motion dramatics were goofy too. I assume by the flowery last few seconds of the movie everyone just kept believing the dead kid was the dad, because only 2 people knew the truth and one is dead and I guess the other must have killed himself, though it isnt blatantly shown.

Yet another pro-life movie trying to normalize it. And the issue is conveniently glossed over by the mother being in her third trimester-not much to do there but accept consequences and destroy beyond repair yet another life, because somebody is going to tell the kid the truth sooner or later. I guarantee it.

My husband and I have major respect for several of the actors in this movie. Well known, talented, versatile actors that shouldn't have been a part of this production. So mad props to whomever was able to sign them for the parts. That being said, this movie was utterly awful. We couldn't quite figure out why the director made the choices he did, as the scenes did not flow whatsoever. The writing was DREADFUL. There were scenes insanely out of place, unorganized, simply dumb (things they say are such "duh" moments), and flat out unnecessary. We found ourselves predicting all outcomes throughout. There is no twist, no thrilling value at all. This director failed this story, And the writers ruined the potential with the wonderful actors. I mean, seriously? An old, overweight man date raping a young girl, then chasing a young adult through the woods? It's just so absurd. We were honestly surprised this movie had a 5.8 rating. Don't waste your time on this nonsense!

This isn't a typical thriller. The cast is quite good even supporting cast so that should indicate that it's not a second rate show. It's different. Starts off like a psychological thriller. Then things become more crime drama with an unexpected villain. The conclusion is unexpected but at least doesn't leave you hanging totally. Margaret Qualley is getting lots of good roles and she is quite watchable. Amy Ryan plays the bitter Mother and divorcee quite well. Worth a watch.