Film Discussion - 2016

05I 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE I Film Discussion I SPOILER

10 Cloverfield Lane is probably one of the most easy to like movies I've seen in recent time.

This is a movie that's blazingly original. It stands alone without having to be a sequel to 2008's Cloverfield despite the temptation to make it more marketable. The movie relies mostly on non-A-list actors and a first-time director. And yet this is also a brilliantly made thriller that achieves all the objectives it sets out to accomplish and more

I had a great time watching this movie. Throughout the entirety of its runtime, I was always into it. For every twist and turn in the move, I was surprised, shocked, astonished, amazed. For every discussion the movie made, I was intrigued. For all it tries to do, the movie succeeds in every mean necessary. It doesn't have to be an excellent tour-de-force nor does it have to be a smashing box office hit. This is a movie man's movie. Original, effective, fun and memorable.

Going into this movie, I knew NOTHING about it. I made no attempt to read up on it and even when some reviews came out, I refuse to see them. So I went into the film fresh.

As the film starts, you will realize that you are not watching a Cloverfield sequel after all. Embarrassingly, I admit having confused Mary Elizabeth Winstead's character with another female character from the original Cloverfield. Now I know they're not only different people but that this film is a different timeline completely.

In the beginning of the movie, one will be able to notice immediately one of the many techniques the movie use to create an effective story – minimalism.

We are introduced to the Mary Elizabeth Winstead's character's – Michelle. She is packing her things and simply driving away. Very little is told to us about what had happened to her. As she drives up an empty road, a phone call reaches her. It's her boyfriend. He begs her to return. He apologizes again and again. She hangs up on him.

This scene informs us a lot about her character. She is serious, decisive and very independent. She won't take shit from anyone. We can imply from the phone call that she has had a bit of fallout with her boyfriend. The fact that she chooses to pick up the phone does show that the fallout isn't fully complete – she still feels for her boyfriend and still wants to listen to what he has to say. But the fact is – she has made her choice. And she is not going to go back.