Moving, in place, but overall ... just lifeless

Rating: 3/10 (17 October 2016)

I'm compelled to write this review because of the 8 score, which is why I watched it. I found it on an all-time list of best films, higher than some timeless masterpieces, and checked with IMDb. Has cinema really become so bad that this is considered a highlight? The synopsis hinted that the film would address re-assimilation issues which could have been interesting. But wasn't. They weren't even plausible, which didn't occur to me at the time because I was drifting off. A very young boy, who has spent his whole life in a shed and is suddenly thrown into suburban USA, behaves no more traumatised than a shy child meeting somebody for the first time. And as for the escape plan...
Don't be fooled, this are no deep insights, no personality developments, and no twists. There is no drama, no laughs, no tension and very little emotion. The tone of the film is just so lifeless. Film is supposed to be an art form. Art requires love and passion from the people creating it. There are a couple of genuinely moving moments, so I raised the score to a 3, but they stand out simply because the rest of the film is so dull. It seems that the reality TV fad has passed onto fiction. I recall the early Big Brother series and people watching while celebrities lay snoring in bed. This is the fictional equivalent.