Thou Wast Mild and Lovely

2014

1h 34m

Romance

Comedy

Mystery & Thriller

List

75%

20 Reviews

Tomatometer

41%

100+ Ratings

Audience Score

A hired hand's interactions with the father and daughter who hired him become awful.

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Audience Member

Very much wish I could un-see this. It's one of those things that you can't look away from but then is unforgettable in a bad way, like a bad traffic accident. Pretty much everything about it was unpleasant, from the cinematography (constantly going in and out of focus for no apparent reason except maybe to disorient the viewer) to the lack of dialogue (someone asks a question or makes an observation or says something shocking, but gets no response from the other characters) to the lack of explanation of who the characters were to scenes so dark and/or cut away that it's not possible to see or know what's actually supposed to be happening. Grade: D

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/27/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Josephine Decker's second feature length film is not for all tastes. Sensual, grotesque, beautiful, perverse, erotic, repugnant, neb-gothic, poetic, intense, horrifying, electrifying and ultimately captivating. There is a lot going on here and just as you expect the film to trip itself up, it only manages to take us deeper into the darkest corners of the damaged human psyche. More concerned with creating an unrelenting tone of tension which sneaks in under your skin. She is not playing by the rules. This is quite an achievement for an indie filmmaker challenged with such a low budget) than big budget movies. It is also essential to note that Decker's cast is amazing. Joe Swanberg is at times deceptively benign but the threat of suppressed sexual rage is always looming. Robert Longstreet can always be counted on to deliver a memorable turn, but here the level menacing danger is unnerving. The real acting power here is Sophie Traub. She is given some more than challenging lines and situations - all of which she makes believable. I will never think of frogs in the same way. Despite the challenges of a severely limited budget, Josephine Decker has established a unique and potent cinematic voice. And, the comparisons I often read/hear to David Lynch are lazy comparisons. Decker is exploring aspects of human connection in a strange but strongly female perspective. Her interests are totally unique from David Lynch. A brilliant film.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

It suffers from all the directing problems of Decker's previous film (the same horrible framing and the image constantly going in and out of focus for no reason), but at least this time there is a script and no hideously improvised dialogue - even if most of it is hideous as well.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The most poetic horror film I've ever seen.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/05/23

Full Review

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Josephine Decker

Director

Joe Swanberg

Akin

Sophie Traub

Sarah

Robert Longstreet

Jeremiah

Kristin Slaysman

Drew

Matt Orme

Caren

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David Rooney

Hollywood Reporter

It's not uninteresting but too self-consciously arty to rank Decker as a mature filmmaking voice.

Feb 4, 2015

Full Review

Jonathan Romney

Screen International

The film delivers an intriguing slant on rural-peril convention, even if it never completely remaps the old weird territory.

Feb 4, 2015

Full Review

Kate Erbland

The Dissolve

Its connections run shallow, and most of its action-particularly in the over-the-top third act-feels spectacularly unearned.

Rated: 2/5

Nov 17, 2014

Full Review

Q.V. Hough

Vague Visages

"With such a powerful concoction of unconventional narrative techniques, 'Thou Wast Mild and Lovely' dares the viewer to touch the flame; a 95 minute summer poem of suppressed emotions and blistering paranoia."

Jun 30, 2022

Full Review

C.J. Prince

Way Too Indie

Thou Wast Mild and Lovely isn't afraid to go further, delving into ideas and choices that can easily repel just as much as it attracts.

Rated: 7/10

Jun 8, 2019

Full Review

Joseph Walsh

CineVue

The drama holds to an extent and the performances are strong, aided by Ashley Connor's keen eye as cinematographer.

Rated: 3/5

Aug 22, 2018

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Synopsis

A hired hand's interactions with the father and daughter who hired him become awful.

Director: Josephine Decker
Screenwriter: Josephine Decker, David Barker
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 29, 2017
Runtime: 1h 34m

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