Review of Drive My Car (2021) by Everett — 16 Mar 2022

Like others, I really wanted to like this movie, and for a while I did. The set-up captured me (though I found one bedroom element ridiculous, something taken seriously that — come on! — verged on comedy).

But the longer it played out, the less my interest held up. The devolving middle might have been worth the wait if the denouement had paid off. But it didn't, finally landing without a real payoff — nothing special, nothing to take away that was original or insightful or worth all that time.

There's a repression verging on implausibility in the third act that made me wonder about what, exactly, a filmmaker's job is, and whether he or she owes some respect to an audience that invests three hours into a film.

Is it fear of being seen as sentimental, or is it pretension, or simply a lack of insight? In any case, I'm bewildered by all the praise, the usual bandwagon. And sad to say it. Yet again.