You're never really sure of the truth

Rating: 10/10 (25 March 2016)

I have to admit that I was actually thinking of not seeing this movie simply because it didn't sound all that appealing. Okay, the only thing I knew about it was from the title, though the title does give a bit of a hint as to what it is about. Sure, it shares a name with the found footage movie Cloverfield, though I didn't think that there was any real connection between the two. However, after a brief glimpse at the synopsis (and they have done really well to actually keep as much of this film a secret as possible, though you can find the plot on Wikipedia - though if you haven't seen the film I don't recommend that you read it).
Okay, a part of me felt that it was like that Stephen King film (and book) Misery, however 10 Cloverfield Lane is actually so much more. The thing is that there is so much you don't know. While it isn't a found footage film like Cloverfield, the only things that you know are basically what Michelle knows, and since she wakes up in an almost empty room with her leg chained to the wall, it is probably not surprising that she is going to be incredibly suspicious of the person who put her there.
The thing is that you are never actually all that sure as to what is true and what is not true. We are obviously unable to trust a word that comes out of Harold's mouth, but then we sometimes wander about Emmett. In fact we don't know all that much about Emmett himself because he only comes into the picture after Michelle lands up in the bunker – so even though he seems like a nice enough guy the fact that he is with Harold, and the fact that the only way you can measure his authenticity is based upon what Harold says always leaves his identity as a live question.
The other thing is that we cannot see outside, and when we do see outside we only get really small glimpses, so once again we do not know the truth of what Howard is saying about them lying in shelter from a chemical attack. Sure, Howard has a radio which is silent, but then again he does claim to be a technician so it is more than possible to make it appear, based on the radio, that there is nothing outside the bunker. Once again, Michelle's mobile phone has no signal, but they are in a bunker, so that isn't all that surprising.
I have to admit that John Goodman plays his role very, very well. Sure, he may have acted in a couple of comedies in the past (such as playing Rosanne Barr's husband) but he never came across as a comedy actor in the same way that, say, John Candy did. His very hard and serious features make him much more suited to roles such as the one that he plays here, and he certainly does a superb job.
If you like thrillers that will leave you guessing right until the end, and is also full of some completely unexpected twists, then I recommend seeing the film. Okay, there are a couple of clangers, and a couple of areas where you have to really suspend your disbelief, but in the end I'm going to have to say that this is going to be one of the great films of 2016.