After the brilliant sleeper horror movie, "It Follows" - this quaint homage to neo noir is the director's next offering. Mitchell is an auteur with a distinctive style which comes across strongly in this movie. Garfield is very engaging as the rather unpleasant 30 something slacker, Sam. A bit of a waster who somehow gets embroiled in a weird and wonderful mystery after his sexy blonde neighbour disappears. The cast is large, the locations in LA are strange and dreamlike and it plays like a wacko dramedy with neo noir overtones. It's an homage to Hitchcock and Lynch and you can see the influence of these two greats in this movie but it's also a very original ramble through one man's particular obsession. It's a very long movie but doesn't feel like it. Garfield is in every scene and is brilliant. He plays world weary and scuzzy very well! Riley Keogh plays the femme fatale whose vanishing act gets Sam started on his quest, and she doesn't have to do much but look gorgeous. The rest of the large cast play their parts well, but its Garfield's movie. The plot is surreal and ridiculous and ends with as many questions as answers. The scene where Sam gets his hand stuck to a copy of a Spiderman comic book is hilarious and a nod to Garfield's role as the web slinger! Quite a few Easter eggs and in jokes if you look for them. This strange offering won't be everyone's cup of tea but I loved it!
Review of Under the Silver Lake
