Earthquake Bird (2019)
Stars: Alicia Vikander, Riley Keough, Kiki Sukezane
Runtime: 107 minutes
Synopsis: An enigmatic translator with a dark past is brought in for questioning after an ex-pat friend, who came between her and her photographer boyfriend, ends up missing and presumed dead.
Performances: 5/10
Screenplay: 3/10
Editing: 5/10
Cinematography: 6/10
Score/Soundtrack: 5/10
Verdict: With films like "Still Alice" or "Colette", Wash Westmoreland have proven himself to be a more than decent director. Pairing him with emerging actresses such as Alicia Vikander and Riley Keough made me curious enough to check out his latest project, this time distributed by Netflix. But "Earthquake Bird" unfortunately did not live up to the success of his previous films.
The mystery, adapted from a novel of the same name written by Susanna Jones, reminded me a lot of 2016's equally disappointing "The Girl on the Train". It's too cold, bland, empty, and chaotic to properly grab the viewer's attention. It focuses on the romantic relationship between two character that share no chemistry whatsoever rather than the actual investigation it opens with, which unfortunately almost serves as a side story that doesn't really play a part in the overall narrative. It got boring very fast, and no amount of Vikander nailing her Japanese lines could rescue it. The tense atmosphere, while being handled more effectively than the script and its incredibly corny dialogue, never exactly offered anything that didn't come off as slightly formulaic and unoriginal. It was way too serious, but impossible to take seriously, and that was my main issue with the film in general.
"Earthquake Bird" is no disaster, but also not something I see myself remembering on the long run. I got bored by its uneven narrative very quick, and the very few interesting elements it offered were lost in its weak screenplay and complete lack of emotional impact.
The mystery, adapted from a novel of the same name written by Susanna Jones, reminded me a lot of 2016's equally disappointing "The Girl on the Train". It's too cold, bland, empty, and chaotic to properly grab the viewer's attention. It focuses on the romantic relationship between two character that share no chemistry whatsoever rather than the actual investigation it opens with, which unfortunately almost serves as a side story that doesn't really play a part in the overall narrative. It got boring very fast, and no amount of Vikander nailing her Japanese lines could rescue it. The tense atmosphere, while being handled more effectively than the script and its incredibly corny dialogue, never exactly offered anything that didn't come off as slightly formulaic and unoriginal. It was way too serious, but impossible to take seriously, and that was my main issue with the film in general.
"Earthquake Bird" is no disaster, but also not something I see myself remembering on the long run. I got bored by its uneven narrative very quick, and the very few interesting elements it offered were lost in its weak screenplay and complete lack of emotional impact.
FINAL GRADE: 4/10
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