Wonderful Movie

Memorable, crazy movie

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I am a couple years late seeing this film but the myriad reviews I've read demonstrate to me that many do not get this film. Hence, I am writing one in its favor.All the complaints about "slow-moving plot," and that the story doesn't move fast enough, provide enough "action" or "suspense" are, in my opinion,indefensible. So accustomed to traditional suspense ploys, this is not so much about what happens next as what is happening in the moment. It is about the need to make a shelter within a vacuum, to find a foothold in a raging river, to find a bit of nourishment from a morsel and a little warmth from a beast's body in lieu of a human one. It is about the looming and interminable experience of guilt, whether real or imagined. No one understood the presence of the woman and why she is both savior and nemesis. Near film's end, there is a snatch of what seems a trivial argument between the two. On the brink of his own extinction, the crash victim tries to extinguish his guilt about this little altercation. This regret looms as tall as the tree-tops against the sky as he is lying in the dirt looking skyward. The man clings to life in the same way that we cling to our magical thinking, cling to those tiny respites from the daily anguish of survival, both physical and mental. We and this protagonist learn the truth at the end, suggesting that if we manage to survive, we too will learn that we might have been the good guy all along. The element of suspense is couched in the wild and unforgiving setting--both within his mind and in the wilderness and create enough nurture to choose life.

*Minor Spoilers Wrecked is a fantastic film. Don't get me wrong. However, there are many things that hold it back from being a truly magical and moving masterpiece. The movie, unfortunately suffers from a rather lethargic pacing, that, at times, reinforces the story and the struggle of Adrien Brody's character. Most often, though, the slow pace can lull the viewer into thinking that he'll never escape. For example, when he returned to his starting position, the car wreck, and it was revealed that he just went in a huge circle I wanted to lash out at the television. Perhaps this is just a instance of how the story can affect the viewer. Don't let the pace (or the bad survival skills of Brody) deter you. It's a wonderfully acted film with a captivating plot. Not a film to miss!

The title does suggest that this will not be pretty (some would argue the same thing about Brody's role selection after his Oscar win ... for the most part(s) that is of course). But a movie does not have to be pretty. Especially if it tries to win you over philosophically. And metaphorically that is. Being (or rather going) on a trip with Brody might be a dream come true for some. For others this will play more like a nightmare.I don't like to compare this to an Oscar winning movie (another reviewer has done this), but I get his point. If you want to see something different, than you might be able to be more open and indulge in the movies pace (try not to fall asleep I guess). I for once thought, there wasn't enough to warrant the running time and/or the tag it tries to achieve.

Mr. Brody is a fine actor, and we always enjoy seeing him in action. His name was the main reason we decided to watch this disappointing film. We realize that actors look forward to, and relish a role that allows them the opportunity to cut loose and gnash their teeth and in this film, Mr. Brody does a lot of tooth gnashing. He wakes up trapped in a wrecked car in a forest. Obviously he has no idea where he is and he is in great pain. Eventually he realizes that two dead men occupy the rear seat, and there is no driver. In one of the few lines in the film, he speaks, indicating that he doesn't know who he is. This is almost another "The Jacket", but "The Jacket" had a point. Writhing with this man (we never know his name and neither does he),for an hour and half of suffering and fevered hallucinations proved to be too excruciating (for us). We had to keep hitting the fast forward button, hoping for something to happen. From the disc cover we had the impression that he awakes to find not only guns but money. Since the driver was not in the wrecked vehicle, we expected him to return, perhaps with henchmen, to reclaim the money and create some mayhem, but unfortunately nothing like that ever happens. In fact nothing at all happens save for a few brief hallucinations that contribute nothing to this tale, until finally, only at the very last minute — in a hopelessly contrived scene of recovering memory — we get the barest glimpse of who this man may have been and how he got into this sorry situation; the end. Like the punch line at the end of a long bad joke, this leaves you with your mouth open, saying: "And...you mean that's it?"