10 Cloverfield Lane is a movie that would have been best served if it was not associated with the budding Cloverfield franchise. My social media feed has been filled with comments about how the last 10 minutes felt off in contrast to the rest of the film. However, as someone who saw the first Cloverfield movie, everything up until the last 10 minutes felt completely off. Honestly, this film probably would have been way better for someone who has never seen the first Cloverfield. I can imagine the twist at the end of the film being either a real turn off or a real surprise. The premise alone is worth the eight-dollar investment in going to see 10 Cloverfield Lane, and with all that said the film is still one of the best films to come out this year.
This is the first feature length film made by the ”˜totally rad’ Dan Trachtenberg who first fell into the Hollywood spotlight by way of his short Portal: No Escape which was debuted during a Totally Rad Show panel at SDCC. A panel I attended myself and even then my-adolescent-self thought Dan had a real future in feature length directing. Dan does an incredible job with working on a small set. The entire film takes place in the survival bunker that belong to John Goodman’s character. Both the cinematography and editing do a great job of emphasizing the claustrophobia of the environment; using close up shots of the actors showing off their ability.
Which leads to the acting in this film. You, for the most part, have a cast of three in this movie with Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Gallagher Jr., and John Goodman. The trio each give the best film performances of their careers. John Goodman is terrifying and unpredictable. I was never able to tell what he was going to do in any given situation which made the hostile chemistry between him and Winstead on point. Probably the worst crime of all is John Gallagher Jr. not getting his fair share to the acting contribution of the film. Winstead, who is the main protagonist of the film, does a great job of playing off his character bringing him into the fold when it comes to plans of dealing with certain situations that arise throughout the film. Although, it’s not until after particular events unfold when you truly realize the importance of Gallagher’s character to Winstead, and, consequently, what Winstead means to Goodman. However, throughout the entire movie Winstead is her own character making the movie, essentially, her own origin story all the way up until the end.
Again, for a Cloverfield movie, what I really wanted was the last 10 minutes of the film. When we arrive at that point is when the film really starts getting into what I wanted to see from this film. Even if I do appreciate the ending more than other people seem to, the movie is still a great film up until that point. Cloverfield is a must see for a plethora of reasons: The Oscar-worthy performances, the terrific set design, and intimacy of the storytelling just to give a few examples. There aren’t many movies like 10 Cloverfield Lane coming out, but if films like Deadpool and Star Wars have proven anything recently, it’s that Hollywood needs to get out of the 80’s and into the new century. Rated R comic book movies sell, films staring a leading black man and a woman break records, and small intimate movies can be profitable. Go see 10 Cloverfield Lane.