A spectacular failure
I think I have found one of the worst movies of the decade. People define bad movies in different ways, but for me, a truly bad movie is one that sets out with an ambitious goal and then fails so spectacularly at that goal. Under the Silver Lake is that film.
See how confused Andrew Garfield looks? That’s how he looks the entire film. And I don’t think he’s acting.
It’s a bummer, because the writer/director also made one of the BEST horror films of the decade, It Follows. From that film, I am sure whoever financed this film gave him a blank slate to work with. This is also a reminder that sometimes leaving one person to be the writer/director/producer of something can be a mistake- everyone needs a co-writer or someone else to collaborate with just to get some feedback. Doesn’t need to be studio interference or anything, just someone to say, “hey, so here’s a thought…”
This reminded me a lot of the nonsense of Southland Tales, the film Robert Kelly made after Donnie Darko. He never really recovered either. I hope this director can come back from this mistake.
Should you watch it, even to marvel at its failures? No. Not even worth it. Not even fun. But this is also the kind of film that in ten years, there will be think pieces about it being “misunderstood.” Oh, I understood it.