What Keeps You Alive
*Spoiler Alert*
So I finally watched What Keeps You Alive, which had been sitting toward the top of my list for a while but somehow kept getting looked over. Honestly, it's pretty good, although the last half features some seriously questionable character decisions.
Jules and Jackie are a lesbian couple celebrating their one year wedding anniversary at Jackie's family's lake house. Though the couple initially seems happily in love, Jules soon starts to feel as if Jackie is hiding something. The first crack in Jackie's facade appears when a neighbor comes by the house to check on it, having seen the lights on, and refers to Jackie as Meagan. Jackie is able to explain this away, saying that she changed her name in an effort of self-renewal when she realized she was gay. Unfortunately, Jules soon realizes a name change is the least of Jackie's secrets.
Brittany Allen and Hannah Emily Anderson both nail their roles as the not-so-happy couple. (The two had previously appeared together in Jigsaw, the most recent entry in the Saw franchise.) You feel for Allen in her confusion and hurt as Jules, and Anderson, as Jackie, is subtly sinister and resists the urge to go full on crazy in the latter half of the film. Her role in the hands of a lesser actress could have easily tilted into Nicholas Cage levels of overacting (nothing against Cage - his madcap style of acting just wouldn't have been appropriate here).
My only real complaint is the bizarre character behavior, particularly in the case of Jules, in the latter half of the film. For some reason, after escaping with her life, Jules decides to go back and look for Jackie to enact her revenge. Girl, just go to the police! You're safe now. Why risk your life further? There is a neat little twist at the end which wouldn't have been possible if Jules had done the smart thing, but otherwise, Jules's less intelligent decisions are not only baffling, but also out of character.
Ultimately, What Keeps You Alive, is suspenseful enough and well-acted enough to rise above some leaps in character logic later on in the film. Recommended.
So I finally watched What Keeps You Alive, which had been sitting toward the top of my list for a while but somehow kept getting looked over. Honestly, it's pretty good, although the last half features some seriously questionable character decisions.
Jules and Jackie are a lesbian couple celebrating their one year wedding anniversary at Jackie's family's lake house. Though the couple initially seems happily in love, Jules soon starts to feel as if Jackie is hiding something. The first crack in Jackie's facade appears when a neighbor comes by the house to check on it, having seen the lights on, and refers to Jackie as Meagan. Jackie is able to explain this away, saying that she changed her name in an effort of self-renewal when she realized she was gay. Unfortunately, Jules soon realizes a name change is the least of Jackie's secrets.
Brittany Allen and Hannah Emily Anderson both nail their roles as the not-so-happy couple. (The two had previously appeared together in Jigsaw, the most recent entry in the Saw franchise.) You feel for Allen in her confusion and hurt as Jules, and Anderson, as Jackie, is subtly sinister and resists the urge to go full on crazy in the latter half of the film. Her role in the hands of a lesser actress could have easily tilted into Nicholas Cage levels of overacting (nothing against Cage - his madcap style of acting just wouldn't have been appropriate here).My only real complaint is the bizarre character behavior, particularly in the case of Jules, in the latter half of the film. For some reason, after escaping with her life, Jules decides to go back and look for Jackie to enact her revenge. Girl, just go to the police! You're safe now. Why risk your life further? There is a neat little twist at the end which wouldn't have been possible if Jules had done the smart thing, but otherwise, Jules's less intelligent decisions are not only baffling, but also out of character.
Ultimately, What Keeps You Alive, is suspenseful enough and well-acted enough to rise above some leaps in character logic later on in the film. Recommended.
Side note: What Keeps You Alive also has shades of Get Out's use of duplicitous lovers. At one point, Jules finds a collection of lockets, like the one Jackie has recently given her, in a hidden box at the house. This reminded me a lot of the scene in Get Out, when the main character finds a suspicious collection of photos of his girlfriend with various African Americans who have since been caught up in the sinister plottings of her family.
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