I appreciate what they were trying to do with this film, regarding a lot of long brooding shots. Going for a hypnotic atmosphere for the film.
Unfortunately many of the brooding shots are of the main character, who spends most of the time standing around like an expressionless zombie. Dear film makers, even though we do get an explanation for her zombie-like behaviour near the end of the film, if you wish for us to empathise with a main character, you need to write in more humanity for her, for us to connect with.
Have her doing things on screen we can relate with, both when she's by her self and with others. Just staring into space and doing nothing is devoid of humanity, thus our connection with her. Even the little girl version had minimal character development.
Fine, have her like this in small part so we know there is something different about her, but have her interact with her environment and people much more so that we can understand, journey with and feel with her.
If we don't connect to a main character, the entire film flops.
The film is also hampered by a bad sound mix, with one of the issues being unnaturally mixed in ADR, and some bad casting and acting. Some actors do a great job, like her bearded assistant, but most actors don't look or behave well for the part they were chosen for.
Twice, I had to laugh, when lieutenant walks into frame to summon another character. One at 00.11.00 minutes and worse instance of it at 00.51.16. This soldier's comedic overacting would suit a skit in the 'Benny Hill Show' or the 'Goodies'.
Some of the digital compositing is bad and distracting. The last example I remember is the main character standing outside of her old home with a train passing in the background. There were some worse ones than this. Did the senior compositor go to lunch and let a student take care of this and the other bad composites? Seriously. I only say this as there are other shots, namely with the giant plant thing, which are superbly composited.
The musical score is good as is the 'slow seeding' concept of 'alien conquest', though how that thing grew unnoticed, alone, ruins the credibility of the film. It's unbelievable that a plant could grow to gargantuan size unnoticed while being monitored by military assets. It's the plot hole of plot holes, and removes one from any trance-like connection with the film which one might have gained previously.
To get that large so quickly, justify this with your writing. For example, in the scene when the main character is looking at the seedling with her head on the ground, if she and we had of observed that plant grow a few inches or a few feet within the duration of that scene, then this might go to justify how the plant could have possibly shot up so fast. But in this scene it stays the same size. So why blow that opportunity to try and cover this plot hole?
I write all of this so you the filmmakers can do better next time, as there is talent here. Quite a lot of talented potential. Very good looking cinematography too. But improve your writing skills, or collaborate with other writers with successful histories by running your script by them and listening to them, or get them to collaborate, or get someone else to write your story. And hire a more seasoned casting artist. Casting is a specialised skill. Successful filmmakers hire the best.
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