Racial prejudice and hatred, contradictions between broken families and relatives, communication and estrangement in the Internet age. Atom Egoyan wanted to say too much, and seemed unable to justify it. However, the cluttered timeline, the confusing plot settings, and the violin music that is always full of soul - not so much to make up, but to inject a psychedelic into the film. And that's exactly what he's been doing all these years - [Where the Truth Lies] 4 years ago was a failure, [the Sweet Hereafter] 12 years ago was the lukewarmness and aftertaste of the process, and earlier The dirty and charming of [Exotica].
I was relieved to see that Sami had an accident in order to help his wife remove an earring from her dress. But on second thought, is this the truth? After all, only the first encounter and the last supper in the episodes about parents appearing in juvenile memories are certain to have actually happened. And the disgusting grandfather, despite his extreme prejudice against his father, does not deny the truth of his mouth. Perhaps, as truth, it could exonerate Tom, who took on his father's responsibilities eight years ago. As a fantasy, there will be no more estrangement between the real father and son.
Many of the characters in the film are like an outlet for the director to express and vent: the aggressive young girl on the other side of the network, the trembling old woman showing her nightmarish marks, and the lazy but not to be outdone taxi driver. Egoyan seems to have gone a bit far this time, but let's turn our attention back to a few protagonists.
Egoyan once again cast his wife, Arsinée Khanjian, as Sabine, a French teacher from Lebanon, and the most confusing role. Her purpose in this play is all to "be part of Simon's life". From the role of the role, all I can see is to help Simon complete his inner changes. Uncle Tom runs through the family's past and present. He repeatedly claimed that he did not know his brother-in-law Sami before the accident, and the silence and evasion in the dinner scene highlighted the cowardice of the character. The real protagonist is the boy Simon who made up the lie, the video of his grandfather's bedside, the unchanging "performance" in the classroom, the talk and listening in front of the screen, and the contorted face in front of the final burning flame. Removing all the trivialities and just seeing it as a path of growth is not a bad idea.
There are inevitably too many flaws in this Egoyan work, which still wins with stamina and aftertaste, and what I think is a sloppy ending. Regarding the angry and evil gaze of the teenager on the screen, it was Tom's unconvinced questioning and worry in the restaurant. And Sabine's truth and voice about herself are too abrupt. Therefore, in the end, the harmony and warmth of the three of them in the same room seemed to come too easily.
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