Melancholic and funny, fantastic

Rating: Null/10 (23 August 2014)

Graceful, melancholic, and sweetly charming even while being very funny, a fantastic film. Very meticulous in its pacing, it's restrained and surprisingly atmospheric too. The performances play a large part as to why it works so well. Michael Fassbender is definitely one of my five favorite actors working right now, he's given great performances all throughout the last several years, and this may stand as one of his very very best. I guess it's going to be hard for many people to look past the fact that we don't see his face (especially when it comes to awards season) but what he does with his vocal expressions is pretty magnificent, and a total transformation. Most times it hardly sounds like the Fassbender we've all heard, if at times even not at all. The only other male performance of 2014 to rival Fassbender's here is James McAvoy's turn in Filth. Domhnall Gleeson is also pretty great in a less showier part, especially great in the film's last act. Maggie Gyllenhaal has also never been better, although I admit that I haven't seen a lot of her work. This is truly great stuff, sad and funny in a way last year's brilliant Inside Llewyn Davis was. This also has a scene that is to me the hardest I've laughed this year.