CalvinLaw’s review published on Letterboxd:
2022 Ranking
Pretty much just as enthusiastic about this on rewatch, which is a good thing. So many top tier Spielberg sequences, and perhaps appreciated the darker, messier elements lying under the surface all the more. I think one thing this film does so well is make the adult intrusions into Sammy's life quite unsettling at points - Mitzi's dance scene and Reggie's reactions to it in retrospect, Boris' forcefulness is pretty off-putting at points, Benny's farewell scene is genuinely quite uncomfortable to watch even though it is very moving too - that I think makes the escapism of Sammy's filmmaking all the more potent.
Still not crazy about the California high school stuff, but that's easy enough to brush aside as less a flaw and more something I'm just not as interested in, and to be quite frank I can't exactly imagine the film without them either, it's all part of the package. I do still think the humour in these sequences is not my cup of tea, in contrast to the humour of, say, the Fabelman dinner gatherings.
Can't believe we're at a point where a Paul Dano nomination is in question. Firmly my second favourite Supporting Actor performance of the year - in fact, maybe a career-best?
CalvinLaw liked these reviews
All
' ].join(''); if ( adsScript && adsScript === 'bandsintown' && adsPlatforms && ((window.isIOS && adsPlatforms.indexOf("iOS") >= 0) || (window.isAndroid && adsPlatforms.indexOf("Android") >= 0)) && adsLocations && adsMode && ( (adsMode === 'include' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) >= 0) || (adsMode === 'exclude' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) == -1) ) ) { var opts = { artist: "", song: "", adunit_id: 100005950, div_id: "cf_async_81afbe81-1551-4ce9-9c4f-4b5527fa6ed4" }; adUnit.id = opts.div_id; if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } var c=function(){cf.showAsyncAd(opts)};if(typeof window.cf !== 'undefined')c();else{cf_async=!0;var r=document.createElement("script"),s=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];r.async=!0;r.src="//srv.tunefindforfans.com/fruits/apricots.js";r.readyState?r.onreadystatechange=function(){if("loaded"==r.readyState||"complete"==r.readyState)r.onreadystatechange=null,c()}:r.onload=c;s.parentNode.insertBefore(r,s)}; } else { adUnit.id = 'pw-81afbe81-1551-4ce9-9c4f-4b5527fa6ed4'; adUnit.className = 'pw-div -tile300x250 -alignleft -bottommargin'; adUnit.setAttribute('data-pw-' + (renderMobile ? 'mobi' : 'desk'), 'med_rect_btf'); if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } window.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', (event) => { adUnit.insertAdjacentHTML('afterend', kicker); window.ramp.que.push(function () { window.ramp.addTag('pw-81afbe81-1551-4ce9-9c4f-4b5527fa6ed4'); }); }, { once: true }); } } tag.remove(); })(document.getElementById('script-81afbe81-1551-4ce9-9c4f-4b5527fa6ed4'));
' ].join(''); if ( adsScript && adsScript === 'bandsintown' && adsPlatforms && ((window.isIOS && adsPlatforms.indexOf("iOS") >= 0) || (window.isAndroid && adsPlatforms.indexOf("Android") >= 0)) && adsLocations && adsMode && ( (adsMode === 'include' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) >= 0) || (adsMode === 'exclude' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) == -1) ) ) { var opts = { artist: "", song: "", adunit_id: 100005950, div_id: "cf_async_bf1b3a20-0fd5-4c72-b388-11395fafbf4a" }; adUnit.id = opts.div_id; if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } var c=function(){cf.showAsyncAd(opts)};if(typeof window.cf !== 'undefined')c();else{cf_async=!0;var r=document.createElement("script"),s=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];r.async=!0;r.src="//srv.tunefindforfans.com/fruits/apricots.js";r.readyState?r.onreadystatechange=function(){if("loaded"==r.readyState||"complete"==r.readyState)r.onreadystatechange=null,c()}:r.onload=c;s.parentNode.insertBefore(r,s)}; } else { adUnit.id = 'pw-bf1b3a20-0fd5-4c72-b388-11395fafbf4a'; adUnit.className = 'pw-div'; adUnit.setAttribute('data-pw-' + (renderMobile ? 'mobi' : 'desk'), 'sky_btf'); if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } window.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', (event) => { adUnit.insertAdjacentHTML('afterend', kicker); window.ramp.que.push(function () { window.ramp.addTag('pw-bf1b3a20-0fd5-4c72-b388-11395fafbf4a'); }); }, { once: true }); } } tag.remove(); })(document.getElementById('script-bf1b3a20-0fd5-4c72-b388-11395fafbf4a'));
