the diving bell and the butterfly & enter the void have something in common: i turned them both after after like 5 minutes. so when this started with similar ~arthousey~ ~abstract~ pov shots, i did think the hazy lights and colors were pretty but also wanted to die a little. determined to make it through a movie i've anticipated for months, i stuck to it and was rewarded, if rewarded is the same as not getting hugely pissed off. this got better in the middle, and then got too weird, and then ended in an incredibly frustrating way - the "twist" is really that the husband is a dick but also sad, and the wife is slightly shady as well, but it isn't about an oppressive obsessive partner/villain so much as it is a screaming endorsement for couples to TALK TO EACH OTHER. it's a lifetime thriller, it's a relationship drama, it's a dreamy art piece, it's sleazy erotica written by someone who doesn't know what erotic means, it wants to say something but has no idea what that something is, it's full of the most extra metaphors of all time (like DEAD BIRDS and SWIMMING IN THE ABYSS and TRAINS GOING THROUGH TUNNELS which symbolizes SEX but also her parents DIED in the tunnel so like it's all like CYCLICAL, MAN), and blake lively does her usual best to make this watchable. it isn't crazy enough for people who like "cerebral" horror/thrillers, and it isn't cheesy enough for melodrama fans, and there isn't anything i personally would consider a twist (honestly fuck you for not putting a stupid twist in this, dumb plot developments that make no sense aren't twists), but. i did grudgingly appreciate the respectful exploration of a woman finding herself, and at (brief) times i thought this could be a favorite, and i hope blake lively continues to do weird shit that nobody understands or likes (this would make a good double feature with age of adaline tbh) for years and years to come. i don't know, there's just something i can't help but like about a drama that tries to be smart but falls flat on its face? this movie wants to be pretentious so badly, it's adorable. i want to watch this again in a year or so, there is a 50/50 chance that i will think it's absolute garbage or a masterpiece i needed to untangle to appreciate - the talent show duet scene is a mystery that i am compelled to solve.