Highest 2 Lowest review. Pretty good. Cinematography, editing, script could have been better. Weird use of music under some action scenes. But, movie has some nice images and some nice moments. Unique auteur movie, not typical crime movie - 7/10.
Everything could be tightened up. Maybe start w/ a part of the action scene on the train towards the end. Cut to "24 Hours Earlier" or something. Shoot the family scenes at start of movie w/ more of a dramatic camera and editing - show the danger under the calm surface.
DW does a great job most of the time. Camera work, editing, music could have improved the movie. A lot of the movie had a "shot on iPhone" quality - wide, detached, not much cutting, kind of a lazy camera. But, some great images of NYC. A more cinematic, action/crime in color, color grade could have worked - could have been a green/orange look, a grainy 16MM or grainy 35MM look. The movie now has a chill Netflix, modern high end cinematic video look - kind of kills the crime/action vibe.
To shoot a movie that way, if drama-action, the performances have to be more serious/dramatic/action filmed (so, editing also), or you have to break up the wide scene into different shots, move camera around. Wide, detached can work for comedy - still, tight editing needed.
Sales negotiations and drama at record label could have been moved up, shown more, dramatized - so that when the kidnapping happens the people involved w/ record label dealings could be looked at as suspects by the police.
Movie could have started w/ - "what's a rich record label exec doing running around with a gun on a subway train? I've got a story for you." - DW character David, cut to "24 Hours Earlier", cut to dramatic record label negotiations, cut to family scenes w/ underlying danger.
There's a fast paced, dramatic, action-crime drama in there. Needs better editing, better music under some of the action scenes/crime scenes.
