The Mountain

source: The Mountain

Rick Alverson doesn't care. He doesn't care about exposition or telling easy stories. And he clearly doesn't care about winning over any mainstream critics or the common moviegoer. (65% on R.T. with a lowly 19% audience score?! We're doomed!) I left this film in a daze, filled with a frenetic energy after absorbing what, to me, is an all-time classic final shot. I was confused and overjoyed in the kind of way only a piece of art that is, in part, about how art is not real can make you feel. Rick Alverson doesn't care if art is real or not. Why should we? Jeff Goldblum deserves all the awards and Tye Sheridan probably deserves all of them and then a few more, but the latter's performance is so understated that it's possible he was just rotoscoped onto the screen. Most people live life not really there. These people probably don't deserve art. They're everyone. I'm still weeding my way through the metaphors and deeper meanings here (on the micro), but, suffice to say, all of that is ancillary to the whole: a 108-minute long feeling. That feeling will most likely change based on the viewer. Clearly it was disgust and boredom for quite a few. But in my eyes, this film is a masterpiece. The best movie I've seen this year. I'm still weeding my way through the metaphors and deeper meanings here (on the micro), but, suffice to say, all of that is ancillary to the whole: a 108-minute long feeling. That feeling will most likely change based on the viewer. Clearly it was disgust and boredom for quite a few, and that's fine. But in my eyes, this film is a masterpiece. The best movie I've seen this year.

Visually interesting vintage cinematography. I only watched because I really like Jeff Goldblum. Where was the dialogue? I feel as though I got a Lobotomy after seeing The Mountain. Very dull and weird.

Poor Tye Sheridan. The kid is appearing in such weak films since he became an adult. As a juvenile, he showed such promise with "The Tree of Life," "Mud," and "Joe." Since then, he's chosen haughty, boring, moody, artsy crap like "Entertainment" and "The Mountain." I'm not saying Sheridan needs to be a movie star for the popcorn-munching idiots, but it would be nice to see him featured in a film where he could again show his acting talent. It would be a shame if he were to end up like Emile Hirsch, for instance. (Oh, "The Mountain" was the epitome of a borefest!)

Rick Alverson is one of the most overlooked and inventive directors of our time. It's easy to understand why people might not like his films but I'm glued to the screen for every second when I watch one. My god, how beautiful and haunting.

I am very familiar with the history of lobotomies. I was one of the producers of an hour long radio documentary on the subject for National Public Radio and my own uncle had a lobotomy. Unfortunately, this film is an abuse of the suffering and misery of people who have mental illness and people who have been traumatized by family members with these problems. The creators of this film perhaps thought they were making something beautiful out of that suffering but my experience of it was that the artistic aspects of the film failed to overcome the horrible sadness and despair of everyone in the film. Pretty images cannot redeem the overwhelmingly horrible content. The only people who might enjoy this film are either very sick people or people who have been lucky enough to never know any such suffering and have a detached curiosity or people who are using drugs to alter the state of their consciousness.

I believe the film is an incredible piece. It is, on the surface about a young man who's recently lost his father who goes onto follow a famous lobotomist who had treated his late mother by working as the lobotomoist's photographer. This film is a walk through hell and it is beautiful. I'd say this film isn't for everyone, but I hate that because I believe this film should be for everyone. I really like, admire, and respect films like this one. It is slow moving and existential and it completely and totally builds the atmosphere of desperation. It certainly speaks on the banality of evil and all of our places in it, how we walk alongside next to evil and moral corruption. The performances are great, Ty Sheridan really shows his talent here. Jeff Goldblum ads an importance to the film. The end does get a little winding, it could perhaps have been edited a bit better in the last 1/4 of the film. There's two long monologues by an older actor that take the film to some other places than where it was before. This is similar to films by Michael Haneke and other European existential filmmakers. If you're into that, this film is certainly for you. It has very touching moments (Like Sheridan's character having a brief physical connection with a patient in her hospital room earlier in the film. It is a brief moment but is touchs your heart so). The film also excels in portraying very alienating moments. It's truly a special piece and it should be seen but you do need to know what kind of film you will see. It is abstract and it holds no prisoners but it is a hugely important piece.

As most reviewers here and in other media have noted, no one can say for certain what this movie is trying to achieve. Andy (Tye Sheridan), the main character, performs with such minimal expressiveness that there is very little difference between his character before and after he's lobotomized. All of his lines might fill half a page. Jack is the father of Andy's love interest, a speechless young woman who's been administered electroconvulsive therapy (with no significant change). Jack, who really should be in an asylum but lives in a mid-century modern house in the woods, delivers one of the most unbearable monologues I can recall seeing in a movie, Although it is complete nonsense, it is the only moment in the movie when anyone speaks with some passion. The director, Rick Alverson, may have felt that he was producing an ultra-hip, beyond cool, anti-movie. The result is a mess of a film, grueling to sit through.

For me the most disturbing murder scene in all of cinema is the murder of Tom Wilkinsons character in Michael Clyaton. It is the opposite of visceral, and the clinical and impersonal nature of it is deeply distributing. The Mountain is an extremely well crafted film in every way. It is an unbelievably distressing film. To me more disturbing than any explicit horror film could hope to be. If you have a stalwart heart, or no heart. Maybe it is for you.

I decided to give this movie a shot mainly because it has Jeff Goldblum. He always has his glorious moments in movies lol. That and Ty Sheridan is pretty good......but WTF!?!?! This movie is about absolutely NOTHING. The storyline is so confusing, isn't about anything, and completely frustrating. It really irked me that the people never friggin talked in the movie. So....I will chalk this up as one of those movies that gain credit because they are "artsy." That is a load of crap though. People will say that its beautiful, artsy, great cinematography, is metaphorical etc, but its not. Sorry but NO its not. Its just a poor film that is boring. The excitement it carried was people staring into space so maybe it was a metaphor for watching paint dry. Also what the hell was the hermaphrodite sh**, and the old French dude ranting about for 30 min at the end? Stay clear of this crap, and thank me later. This movie is about as interesting as a wet fart