No rousing techno soundtrack from regulars Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, no sexy overtones and no strong aesthetic sheen. There are some attractive actors, but it’s still not a proper Luca Guadagnino joint, goshdarnit. The film centres around Julia Roberts’ talented academic Alma who is forced to pick sides when her star student Maggie (The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri) accuses Amla’s colleague Hank (Andrew Garfield) of sexual assault.
So. About that soundtrack. It just hasn’t got those bopping electro beats that added so much character to their previous films. None of that ‘Compress/Repress’ magic from Challengers. None of those techno tension ‘In Motion’ vibes from The Social Network. And you could make a decent argument that a loud maximalist score wouldn’t quite gel with a film that discusses such a heavy subject. But the intensely minimalist piano and strings only add to a lacklustre, toned-down visual aesthetic that adds little to an unengaging plot. The acting’s solid, as are the actors. It’s nice to see Andrew Garfield on solid scumbag form after his general good guy filmography, and few actors are more skilled with that shouting schtick, whether that involves smashing up laptops (see: The Social Network) or discovering that you were manufactured with no soul (see: Never Let Me Go). Julia Roberts is fairly beige, but Edebiri gives a more spirited performance as the
There should be more to like here. There are plenty of hyper close-ups on facial expressions as characters engage in heated conversations. And I’m a fan of those close-up kinda things. But the substance just isn’t there. The film’s content seems to be reaching for the high quality of recent masterpieces like Tar, but Roberts hasn’t got Cate Blanchett’s rizz or talent, and the screenplay doesn’t go anywhere particularly satisfying. Not a total disaster, but not a straight serve like Challengers or a, um, peach like Call Me By Your Name.