Cheap Thrills (2013)

[baumer]

Discuss

[baumer]

This doesn't come out until March 14th but it looks like it's been playing at the festivals for a year, so I'll post it early.

[Deep Wang]

This doesn't come out until March 14th but it looks like it's been playing at the festivals for a year, so I'll post it early.

 

It's actually on VOD right now too.  Which is how I just watched it again.

 

Please, please, please see this everyone.  Don't watch the trailer, don't read any reviews, don't do anything.  Just watch it and hold on for the ride.

 

This would have been in my Top 10 last year, so it is my #1 for 2014 so far.  I know that doesn't mean much, but I just love this fucking movie.

[Jack Nevada]

Smart, cinematic and impossibly dark moral satire in the vein of Michael Haneke's Funny Games. Heck of a debut for director E.L Katz

[mattmav45]

One of those films that has surprised me in its ability to stay in the mind after a viewing.

 

I do not say this as a way of trying to promote this film as having more depth than one would expect.  Rather, I simply mean I am surprised that my mind keeps wandering back to it the day after viewing.  Granted, it's not necessarily causing my mind to drift into philosophical undertones, but has nonetheless caused my mind to take action and fire up a little bit.  Such a statement is not to be taken lightly as there is something to be said about a film that refuses to drift away into short-term memory wasteland.

 

What we have here is some kind of allegory on the class systems and wealth distribution.  Of course one can always allow subject matter to take them in a variety of different areas, but for me this worked as a study of money and its corresponding effects on human behavior.  

 

I'm not going to sit here as an attorney and try to tell you that money does not mean anything to me.  Hell, take any profession and I doubt one could make such a statement.  The fact of the matter is that money is the largest driving force of culture and complementing cultural norms, whether you wish to accept this or not.  As such it is easier for me to associate the film's material with the starting point of it all:  Money.

 

The characters here are pretty underwhelming on first approach, but this is a calculated choice.  On one hand you have Vince who is content with just getting by.  This is in sharp contrast to Craig who has hit a streak of bad luck and is struggling to support his family.  The character dynamic here is in place for a damn good time.  By simply looking at the characters on paper it would seem that Craig would be the morally-sound of the duo.  Unfortunately, the film is very adept at showing how morality and persona are thrown out in window when it comes to the pursuit of that deadly green paper.

 

Perhaps the creepiest aspect here has to be the manner in which the wealthy couple interacts and behaves.  Rather than getting invested in any kind of manner, they for the most part nothing more than by-standers to the brutal carnage taking place in their home.  Perhaps the magic of this film lies in its ability to make the viewer one of the by-standers.  Looking back now, it is hard to not feel like all I did was simply sit back and bask in some utter destruction.  Perhaps I'm just drawing this too far out, but it's simply too damn cool of a thought to just throw away in such a haphazard manner.

 

Simply put.........first and foremost it works as a fine bit of entertainment, but don't be surprised if it doesn't fire off some neurons in the process.

Edited October 6, 2014 by mattmav45

[acab]

It's very similar to Would You Rather. I don't think it's as good as that one since i didn't completely buy a lot of the protagonist's decisions but it's a solid, dark and twisted satire.

[JohnnyGossamer]

Hmm. Somewhere between Killer Joe and Trading Places there's a Cheap Thrill. B+.

[Deep Wang]

After watching it again, it's still in my top ten for the year. It's just brilliant on all fronts.

[Jake Gittes]

Very good, although once Healy's character makes his return the writers pretty much write themselves into a corner in which there's only one ending the story can have. (And, sure enough, that's the ending we get). I'm also getting increasingly irritated by indie films that seemingly can't bother with interesting cinematography and just follow the characters everywhere with a handheld camera. The final shot is brilliant, though.