Monsters

Released:  September 24^th, 2010

Rated:  R

Distributor:  Magnet Releasing

Starring:  Scoot McNairy, Whitney Able

Directed by:  Gareth Edwards

Written by:  Gareth Edwards

Personal Bias Alert:  went in with high expectations, knew there weren’t many monsters

7.3 of 10

            Perfection in movies is overrated.  A filmmaker can spend an inordinate amount of time and money trying to achieve a clean script, a stellar cast, and a flawless production, but the final product would inevitably be flawed.  It’s much more important (and much cheaper) to shoot for a film that is inviting, to make your audience feel like they’re snuggling into heavy blankets on a cold day and allow them to snuggle in deeper.  Mistakes can be forgotten, but that warm feeling a good movie engenders stays with you.  It’s difficult to find a more flawed, cozy film than Monsters, and I’m excited to add it to the lineup of films I return to year after year.

            Set few years after aliens crash-landed on Earth, photographer Andrew (Scoot McNairy) must escort his boss’s daughter Sam (Whitney Able) through alien-infested Mexico.  Why Sam is in Mexico in the first place is never made clear, but she speaks Spanish well and seems to be avoiding her impending marriage.  Her reluctance to return home is exceeded by Andrew’s annoyance at being drug away from the lucrative alien action.  Of course, the trip doesn’t go as planned, so Andrew and Sam get more action than either really want.

            Monsters is very much a two-hander, with Andrew and Sam being the only major characters in the film.  There’s a forced romance underlying their relationship that never quite feels natural, but they do have a great, non-sexual sort of chemistry that makes the film seem warm.  McNairy is the better actor, somehow managing to make Andrew’s stereotypical persona as a hardened opportunist seem lived in.  Able lacks the ability to overcome her rough characterization, but she does give Sam the vibe of a decent person, and there’s just something cute about the way she smiles at McNairy’s bemused smirk.  The charm of this film is that I would be happy watching these two do most anything.  That there’s aliens lurking in the background is just icing on the cake.

             I say the aliens are lurking because, despite its title, we don’t actually see too much of them.  This has led to some disappointment and accusations of false advertising, but there’s an argument to be made that the aliens aren’t the monsters that the title is referring to (otherwise it would be called Aliens, right?).  Instead, it might be the myriad of people who’ve taken advantage of the situation and caused Andrew and Sam harm, along with the people who are trying to help but only make the situation worse.  It’s a bit hard to glean a clear point from this movie, as the writing is lose and half-baked.  In fact, the script was more of an outline, with scenes and dialogue adlibbed as the tiny crew road tripped through Mexico and Texas.  The story itself is still clear, but deeper meaning and clean lines seem to have gotten thrown out the window at some point during the trip.

            That Gareth Edwards, who served as the cinematographer, production designer, and visual effects artist, along with writing and directing the whole shebang, was able to pull a film together in such a way is impressive.  The logistics of such a shoot were certainly daunting, especially considering their budget of less than $500,000, so the high quality of the cinematography (which varies from shaky-cam action to wistful holds) shows that Edwards is someone who instinctively understands how to present a movie.  How he pulled of what shots we do get of the aliens left me flabbergasted, as they look about as good as anything you’ll see in big-budget movies.

            The shooting style and budget inevitably led to some constraints that show in the final product, but Edwards and McNairy are talented enough to overcome them, giving this world an unusually warm, heartfelt little monster movie.

Other Notes: 

Ø  You know your guy’s not a hero when he rides on the back of a motorcycle.

Ø  Why does no one answer the phone in this movie?

Ø  What a climax! (pun intended)