I waited many years to finally watch Cloverfield and I was pleasantly surprised. The trailer for the pseudo-sequel definitely prompted me to move the original up on the list, so on release night I took my daughter to see 10 Cloverfield Lane (IMDb), which currently has 91% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Michelle awakes locked in a shelter with two men after suffering a few injuries in a major car accident. Both men claim the outside world is affected by a widespread attack of some kind and that the rest of the world is gone.
I’ll avoid spoilers and focus more on the actors than the plot. The three characters seen in the trailer are all phenomenal. I would have to give my favorite to John Goodman. His performance as Howard is as powerful as ever and he always manages to add a sense of humor to any situation whether looking a Cohen film like “Barton Fink,” or Oh Brother Where Art Though are good examples. Both of those films feature Goodman as a character of questionable morals and often hard to tell whether he is a good guy or a bad guy at times. Yet, in both films he manages to have some comedic moments. This film is a great venue for his ability to carry his fatherly, light-hearted side while managing to carry the gravitas that few other actors can bring to the screen.
Michelle is played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead who won me over as a fan in one of my favorite films, “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World,” where she plays the hair-colored love interest Ramona Flowers. I’ve yet to see her in a film that I didn’t enjoy her performance, and this film definitely allowed her talents to shine. She manages to play a vulnerable character that is extremely believable, but when she decides to get tough it’s actually more believable. She seems like she could be a pretty great action star if Marvel is casting…I don’t know…Carol Danvers. I enjoy her presence on screen and her chemistry with both Goodman and John Gallagher, Jr.
Gallagher plays Emmett and is the third (and slightly lesser known) face in the trailer. He plays an important role as the neutral party in the film. He helps bring peace to what could have been a very hard to swallow story that Howard is feeding Michelle. Had it just been the two without Emmett, the film would have played out a lot differently. Emmett offers a lot of comedic relief that helps to break the tension, or in some cases builds the tension.
If you know what Cloverfield is about, if not it’s basically a found-footage Godzilla film…AND THAT IS NOT A BAD THING…so I was wondering how they would tie that film into this one. I’ll leave that out of this review as it could be considered a spoiler. However, this film has a completely different feel than Cloverfield mainly because of the claustrophobic setting. This film definitely is more focused on the theme of how will three people who barely know each other get along when put in a small space. There is much more to that of course, and the way the film plays out is paced perfectly. There is plenty of tension and suspense with the occasional bits of humor.
The film with features solid camerawork, for example lots of shooting through doorways to add depth, and paired with a great score really set the mood and tone of the film.
I’m really torn where to place this film on the scale. It’s definitely a fun time at the movies, but I don’t think it’s quite a must see. Thus, I’m going with 10 Cloverfield Lane as Not Quite Golden, Ponyboy. There are elements of the film that I’m not exactly sure how I feel yet, but the overall experience was a positive one and there are definitely some memorable performances.
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