Gerald's Game (2020)

Gerald's Game (2020)

RELEASED September 29, 2017 RUNTIME 104 mins DIRECTOR Mike Flanagan 

WRITERS Stephen King (novel), Jeff Howard (screenplay), Mike Flanagan (screenplay) 

STARS Carla Gugino, Bruce Greenwood, Chiara Aurelia

COUNTRY United States LANGUAGE English 

STUDIO Intrepid Pictures 

GENRES Thriller, Drama, Horror

Streaming On: Netflix

The plot: A woman's husband dies during a sex game where she is handcuffed to a bed. 

Random observations:

• The movie kind of plays like a recap of the first episode of Season 8 of a series. There is obviously too much from the book that couldn't be squeezed in, and the weird flashbacks don't necessarily cut well. 
• The pacing stutters but I like the dog.
• The quality is good for Netflix, but I'd feel ripped off if I paid movie ticket prices at a theater for this. 

This is my second viewing of this film and its rewatchability doesn't hold very well. The deep subjects covered going on in the main character's tapestry were woven together by someone who could not feasibly have experienced anything similar. 

tl;dr: A bunch of privileged white dudes mansplains the terrors of trauma and abuse through the eyes of a woman. 

0.6/1 Directing

0.4/1 Cinematography

0.6/1 Visual design

0.4/1 Editing

0.6/1 Plot 

0.5/1 Dialogue

0.5/1 Acting

0.7/1 Soundtrack/Score/Sound

0.5/1 Originality

0.4/1 Rewatchability

Total: 5.2/10 Binge Bones

The verdict: Feelings isolation and immobility are broken up too much to settle and work as a suspense tactic. Plays like a couples therapy session on benzos. Not great.