Movies like these that convey the relationship between the self, the society, and the objective world are like big philosophy books. If this is not an American movie, but a European movie, I might not care much about the weak, restrained and restrained emptiness that the film highlights when advancing the plot, and I will also ignore the faults that cannot be undertaken. Perhaps, I just feel that the spiritual core of the whole drama is not strong enough, the story is too thin, and the contradictions and conflicts of the incident have not been deeply expressed. Besides, the director’s debut work is of a high standard, and I will never doubt the ideological foundation of the whole play if I think about it. The Obama Renaissance in just two centuries is enough to nourish the garden of thoughts of future generations.
But realizing that it has the backing of Hollywood, it naturally unearthed its impetuous, efficient, and commercial chassis. Paradoxically, it tries to use the pictures to calmly build the director’s objectivity and justice, and it seems that it always carries the fast-food culture. The taste of chicken thighs is delicious, but it lacks a bit of taste. Of course, it is different from the philosophical movie that Woody Allen uttered. However, it does use a philosophical vision to complete the lens, so it can be considered a good film, even if it is not that good.
I think my prejudice probably comes from the resume of director Mike Mills. He is a designer and has a place in commercials and MV directors. He is good at recording short films and dabbles in feature films. His first film is no surprise. He used all his talents visually and used it as a killer to mend other shortcomings, but the complicated structure of the long drama will inevitably become a challenge to the director.
In fact, this is the overall impression that the movie "Thumb Sucker" gave me. The most beautiful part of the show is the shots rendered like paintings, and each one is a good postcard. The color of the picture is even lighter and grayish, reflecting the protagonist, including all the characters in the play, which seem to be calm and uneasy and fearful. Obviously, it is Mike Mills' style to convey emotions through pictures to tell the story. Although there are no original passages in the whole play that are eye-catching, this kind of visual experience does create an atmosphere similar to European art films, and first captures the viewer's attention.
Next, let’s go back to the plot of the movie. The film has lost the standard of literary and artistic alternatives, and perhaps it is still in the specific details that are so-called close to the lives of the American people. Debate contests, underage drinking, drug abuse, sex, family members’ individual troubles, how to raise children, football, cycling and other sports inspirational, these are really not fresh enough, and there is no extraordinary special link, it is very easy to reveal the middle class in the United States invisibly The day after day of class-superior life, which highlights the singularity and boringness, naturally sneers at the bottom of the viewer's heart-it's just a little thing.
Since Mike Milstein said that his movie is to convey the philosophy of life, and to find the soul of the movie with the original spirit of his designer who has not played cards according to the rules of the game, then he should create something more in "The Thumb Sucker" Many "unexpected" psychological problems are not the only special "thumb sucking" psychological problem that supports the whole drama. Look, as I said, I accidentally enlarged the perspective of following Mike.
Although the "Thumb Sucker" has a facial image that is easy to forget, the multi-line narrative finally saved the theme of dispersing the form, which is worthy of recognition. All the characters in the play have the problem of "fear of self".
The father confessed for the missed dream, and he also feared that he would grow old and become incompetent, meaningless in the hearts of the children.
The mother feared that her son was about to become an adult, escaped from her wings, and feared that an unchanging life would consume her passion.
The youngest son has always grown up in a fearful adult world. His father, mother, and elder brother are all his reference objects. He vaguely fears losing his parents' attention, fearing that the little bit of care that he has won by pretending to be "normal" will be deprived.
The teacher feared that his dignity was challenged and that he could not control the situation of educating people, and finally chose to abandon his students.
The dentist fears that his true self is incompatible with society, and fear cannot control his inner desires, and simply tarnishes all ideologies that deviate from the mainstream.
In the name of pressure, the actor is deeply trapped in the sea of poison, taking life as a bet, because of fear of all insignificant foreign objects outside of life.
The protagonist, Justin, fears the "symbols" that have been established on him-weird people, weak people with intellectual disabilities, and insecurities. Seventeen years of inertial life has shaped him who sucks his thumb. Of course, he is the most complicated, and he is also tied to a long-term reality problem that is deliberately suppressed by his parents or the surrounding environment.
In short, this is the focus of the movie. Fear of being isolated, fear of being mediocre, fear of being ignored, these unusually unified characteristics are demonstrated through the inner movements and behavior styles of different characters, and have clear logic.
The young actor Lu Pucci won the 2006 Berlin Silver Bear Award Winner for this film. In addition to giving him sufficient performance space in the entire play, he must work hard with the director to find Kino Reeves, Vince Vaughan, and Tilda Win. These big names like Ston have a relationship. It is unceremonious to say that Kino Reeves came to make soy sauce. He is also a psychotherapist, dentist, and cyclist. The first two shots of soy sauce were very professional, and then he was disappointed. Vince Vaughn and Tilda Winston performed well, but there was no big challenge, just acting as an ordinary person. On the contrary, Benjamin Blatter, a guest star in the play, is very popular, and the mixture of addicts and swingers is perfectly possessed.
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