So the idea of telling the Superman story where he uses that power for his own benefit and to dominate others is an interesting one to explore. Tied to that is the story of those who love him. How do you react when your own child does terrible things? All of this should have made such a fascinating story.
This is what Brightburn should have been, an exploration of the seductive nature of power. But it never gets to that. Brightburn pays lip service to showing the central figured bullied a bit and made to feel different but it never gets under the surface of that in a meaningful way. It kind of just plays paint-by-numbers horror, shortcutting the real work of telling that story, making us understand what it is like to be different and the desire to lash out, to take control. Instead Brightburn just assumes evil from the start, like he's Damien or something with no reason for it. The film gives Elizabeth banks some moments to deal with her conflict between her love for her son and her coming to the realization that he's evil, but in 90 minutes she doesn't have much time to get into much of that either.
Brightburn spends the precious little time it does have on making spectacular attack sequences. The scene in the diner is horrifying. But it ends up being little more than a straight up horror movie with very little to chew on beyond that. Even it's supposedly clever ending feels cliche and rushed. Brightburn just never attempts to be more. I think there is a fascinating story out there to be told and Brightburn just isn't it.
Brightburn
Starring: Elizabeth Banks, David Denman, Jackson A Dunn, Matt Jones
Director: David Yarovesky
Writers: Mark Gunn, Brian Gunn
No comments:
Post a Comment