Mike D
I'm a fan of Michael Shannon and Rachel W., but this was really a bad movie. Definitely would advise not wasting your time watching it.
Rated 1.5/5 Stars •
Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars
10/17/24
Full Review
John O
Spoilers: This is an acting class by a couple with a zillion acting award nominations and wins, Rachel, who has an Oscar, and Michael, nominated for two. It's almost a conicidence on her Oscar, as she was the flit about, the where did she go, and Ralph Fiennes was the constant gardener, there like Gibraltar. She quit then and now, being 10 remakes of herself here -- do, then quit, remake, then do. She couldn't find that sweet spot, where she wanted to stay. Is it as simple as she did what she liked doing until she didn't like doing it again and again? So it was her feeling of seeking comfort, ease, pleasure in a constant way, and failing at it. The meet cute here was really a remeet, but both were too cautious to spill the beans of their old friendship up front due to those pesky commitments and such, at his birthday party that she wangled a way into on a date by attracting his work mate. Michael, too, was unsatisfied with what he was doing for many years at work, and had a wife who was heading for school out of state, and he didn't know what to do, since his work was in this city. For a second toward the end when Rachel said does he want to come with her, I thought he might actually go. But she was on to a new adventure with a new ID and a new job and all. And when they finally hugged, she more emotional about it -- she had come to town just to grab him back after their youthful relationship of 15 years ago -- his face told us he had to get out of the hug and away from her. Good move, Michael, as she should not be relied, counted or depended on, as she was a big-time quitter when the going got rough. He, like a constant gardener, went back to the wife to work out details of him and her and her schooling but would stay together. What do we make of the Rachel character? Personality disorder? Mental illness? Too bent on satisfaction to soldier through the rough times in anything? This is a slice of life piece, and really raises the question of what should we be doing and when, if ever, should we quit? Who among us adults has not felt that? This is a niche piece, an implausible story, maybe a little like Bill Murray in 2005's "Broken Flowers" when he went to visit old girlfriends, looking for something. Same as Rachel seeking out Michael here. He was apparently the best she had had it, and it made sense for her to try with him again. But while some mutual attraction lived on, it was too late. A committed guy and a quitter of a gal don't go together here, which made sense.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
07/31/23
Full Review
Sheri L
I read a review that summed this movie up perfectly: The most interestingly boring movie ever. I was intrigued to see where the storyline was going but then the movie just ended. Such a disappointment.
Rated 1.5/5 Stars •
Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars
03/06/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Waste of time. That's all there is to say. There's not enough elements to even critique.
Rated 1/5 Stars •
Rated 1 out of 5 stars
01/13/23
Full Review
Audience Member
The personality of Alice (Rachel Weisz) in Complete Unknown is powerful, It makes you think that she is someone else, if knowing who she really is but sometimes, lying is dangerous, while Michael Shannon is discovering the secrets she hides venturing on a walk full of pros and cons of his past...
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
01/25/23
Full Review
Audience Member
A woman with many faces!
No doubt this was wrongly labelled as an average film. The title, the story, the performances, all stood to my expectation. I jumped into it prepared for another boring film. Indeed, it was a slow narration, at least in the initial parts. That twist in the early mid sect unleashed the bright side of the tale. Not knowing what to expect, I thoroughly got entertained for the rest of the film.
It all was a day event. In fact, most of the story happened on one night. Though for a brief moment in the opening, they have shown us events from the different timelines. Just to convince us. Alice, who befriended a man while in the lunch, decides to attend a birthday party of his friend with him. But that night the things change as some secrets about her was revealed. Then event takes a different path with different adventure revealing more about about her.
Yeah, everybody saying they saw it for Shannon, but for me, Rachel Weisz the reason the film looked so good. It is one of the underrated film of the year. It was unique. Probably less familiarity compared to any film. So not easy to predict the story. The suspense made me so curious and kept my eyes wide open till the end. I would like to see the other side of the story, probably in another film/part/sequel. Seems that's a very interesting aspect. Don't consider what the film critics say, it's definitely worth a watch.
7/10
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/30/23
Full Review
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