Connectivitydrama by Jason Reitman, USA 2014
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3179568/?ref_=fn_ft_tt_1
In today’s constantly connected society, the youth seem incapable of human interaction, preferring online chats and texting. The implications of putting all sorts of details on the internet raises red flags for some parents, alienation for others and a sense of becoming blasé for yet others.
With gorgeous footage of the Voyager traversing through our solar system and narration provided by the incomparable Emma Thompson, the film sets the mood as a pretentious, yet tounge-in-cheeky black comedy, and so it remains for the first third, before turning more into drama. The classic high school stock characters are present: the bitchy cheerleader, the arsehole jock, the sensitive guy who no longer wants to be a jock, the alternative girl…. But it’s all about their lack of communication and their parent’s lack of understanding. Scariest would be Jennifer Garner’s big brothery overprotective mum, logging and blocking all her daughter’s internet and mobile communication. However, Judy Greer as the failed actress desperately using her attention seeking daughter to make up for her lost dreams is as sad, but on the other side of the spectrum. A visually pleasing film that would be more enjoyable had they kept the dark comedy throughout.
Bechdel test: Pass
4 avatars of 6
