A Lesson in Cruelty (2018) Reviews

• Clever, dark comedy and surprising satire.

  vroth-892212018-04-12

  Clever, dark comedy and surprising satire. Interesting to have the lead be such an ignoble character. You really want him to get his comeuppance. I enjoy a bit of over the top acting. Love the political innuendoes and the indie vibe. It gives the audience what it wants.

• Happy birthday!

  glengrefe2018-02-27

  Funny, biting, schoolin' and cruelin' - unique, cerebral performance, message driven indie film fun.

• A Lesson in Restraint

  vaughnd7112018-02-12

  In an age where Hollywoodland lends itself to some million dollar shiners and billion dollar stinkers, a man can never know what to expect when the next festival bidding-war rolls around. And when it comes to this low-budget, solo trek into the creative minefield that is politics, A Lesson in Cruelty is due to be cut some well-deserved slack. To judge a picture solely on its message isn't (always) fair. Neither would be examining this film in the glow of those who can afford to spend millions airbrushing a mustache. If a filmmaker wanted only that aspect analyzed, they'd have just written a 72 minute speech. But this isn't a 72 minute speech. It's a picture with a cast, a crew, and a script. Plenty more to look at without relying on politics! And that's what I hope to do here. Sitting down for A Lesson in Cruelty, I was expecting a fun comedy made by a group of pals who love movies as much as I do. They just want to make us laugh, right? Well, I don't watch a whole lot of news. But anyone who comes within earshot of a radio once or twice a week will have no trouble whatsoever realizing what this movie is really trying to do. The classic "Haha" followed by the "Ah-ha". Although there were plenty of the "Hahas" sprinkled among some of the less appealing "Huhs", it's the "Ah-ha" aspect in which A Lesson in Cruelty seems to have trouble. Subtlety is key when it comes to tackling bigger ideas in the world of film. It's knowing what to put in bold, and what to tuck away into the subtext. This is a discipline that I noticed these fellas were running short on from the get-go. Each moment that made me stop to think would be followed by an equal moment of "Guess that's one less thing to wonder about later." The ending seemed to really epitomize this lack of trust in the viewer to figure out for themselves what is being artistically communicated. On a lighter note, I enjoyed most of the performances, most notably that of Andre Shanks. Actors have three eyes. This guy managed to keep his third, his mind's eye, off of himself. Leading to something that felt very natural. The cinematography also made great use of the locations, stunningly in some scenes. However, like all things, there are wrong times to show off those lenses. I love an extra long take and a slow-dolly as much as the next fella, but when the point of one scene is an exchange between two co-workers, shooting them voyeuristically from oh so very far away really puts up an awkward barrier leaving the heat of said moment unfelt from way the hell over here. When it comes down to the script, there are as many ups as downs. A lot of the banter, most notably within the tennis scene, was wonderful if you ask me. The writer here seems to have a great talent for tennis, but not exactly four-square. Because take any character besides the two with their pie-holes open and baby you've got yourself a perfect coat-hanger for the foyer. There were also a lot of great aspects of the script that felt very rushed. A very pleasant surprise to me was Julian's excitement for his first birthday party. The five seconds of sympathy I felt made for a neat dynamic that I wish they'd have expanded on that a bit more. Overall, here we've got laughs and plenty to take home if the film can trust you with it. And as much as I can appreciate the endless love behind any indie project, A Lesson in Cruelty is a film I recommend you tackle with a beer in your hand as opposed to a thirteen dollar popcorn and a notepad. 05/10