Thou Wast Mild and Lovely2014
Recognition
What makes this film worth watching?
"...often suggests what might happen if Malick were to adapt Tennessee Williams, somehow gaining a sense of humor in the process." - Chuck Bowen, Slant Magazine
6 members like this review
Richard Brody in The New Yorker announced that "A Star is Born" with Josephine Decker's "Butter on the Latch" and "Thou Wast Mild and Lovely." Absolutely - her direction and editing is (along with the cinematography of Ashley Connor) outstanding. What strikes me the most about their craft is the number of shots in these two films that create unease and aesthetic interest in equal measure - a combination that never ceases to fascinate and that makes irrelevant the lines between dream and reality, present and past, even horizontal and vertical. In this sense as star - cinema itself - is reborn. These films are nothing that could be imagined in any other form or medium - they are slices of cinema at its most engaging and essential.
Starring
- Bennett Alderdice - Jack
- Robert Longstreet - Jeremiah
- Geoff Marslett - Richard
- Erica McClure - Robin
- Matt Orme - Caren
- Brooklyn Schuck - Cooper
- Raleigh Schuck - Younger Sister
- Kristin Slaysman - Drew
- Joe Swanberg - Akin
- Sophie Traub - Sarah
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Member Reviews (30)
Richard Brody in The New Yorker announced that "A Star is Born" with Josephine Decker's "Butter on the Latch" and "Thou Wast Mild and Lovely." Absolutely - her direction and editing is (along with the cinematography of Ashley Connor) outstanding. What strikes me the most about their craft is the number of shots in these two films that create unease and aesthetic interest in equal measure - a combination that never ceases to fascinate and that makes irrelevant the lines between dream and reality, present and past, even horizontal and vertical. In this sense as star - cinema itself - is reborn. These films are nothing that could be imagined in any other form or medium - they are slices of cinema at its most engaging and essential.
The movie was slow and I did not watch the whole thing because I found it boring.
Newsflash: Movies are allowed to be slow. That's not a criticism.
Loved the very deliberate pacing and the creative use of camera and lens. But mostly it was the performances of Straub, Swanberg and Longstreet that hooked me.... Robert Longstreet adds a certain depth and dimension to every film he's in. That being said, the last part of this film seems to be taken from another script, another genre, another world. The ending really takes something away from the potential overall power of the film.
A crazy movie, but crazy good. The central character is seductive in a playful way. In a different setting she would be a hippy, but here she is indescribable. The evil element is hard to watch, but it will keep you watching. There is far more depth to this than is obvious on a first take.
Bullshit!!! Nothing to do with David Lynch as stated. He takes you somewhere, while this does not.
There was a certain beauty , both visually and in the VO prose. However, the twists at the end were so far out of left field that the film wasn't coherent as a whole. The ending felt forced and damaged the rest of the film.
well, just come right in, why don't ya
This movie was strange, strange, strange. I kept waiting for something to happen and when things did, they were just weird.
AMAZING!
no good
I wasn't convinced after my first watch but it has been impossible to shake. Haunting and inescapable.
A twisted Child ballad of a film.
Didn't get more than 20min in before deciding to try something else.
4 1/2 totally strange the girl is the winner she's such a mystery & the camera is great_you are there & you don't know where you are_well worth the trip_but get me out of here
Magnificent work!!
Tense - intoxicating - visceral - like the yearning and dread a qusano brings as it sinks through a bottle of mescal on to your tongue - refreshing - exhilarating - great directing, acting, and cinematography is beautiful.
Boring man suffering from mild Asberger's finds himself on a farm with some interesting people, heteronormativity status quo wins the day, after much bloodshed. 1 star
Sorry to be so harsh but this film might have been made by a pretentious 2nd yr. art student whose ideas about life aren't based in any kind of reality. The film was beautiful to watch, the actors were good and it wasn't boring - so far it sounds promising - but the axe falls on the film when you try to invest a bit of yourself in it and you find doing so is very hard. There is no there ... there. I enjoyed it anyway.
Rather confused and surreal. I had to read the burb to discovery that she was the
daughter of the rancher and not the wife even as he denied it. Was the rancher
sterile and wanted the Joe Swanberg character to impregnate her?
He was her father. He was a psycho abuser and ended up dead as a result.
@Joan D.—assuming the farewell gesture accorded her by the wife of Shoulders is any clue-not to mention the frog foreplay, I would guess the same, if not more so, would have to be said of the wife/daughter.
I didn't think this film worked very well at all, despite enjoying some of Decker's other films like "Butter on the latch" and "Uncle Kent". Although parts of it are unique and interesting, as a whole I found it difficult to make sense of.
Some beautiful rural photography but otherwise its incomprehensible plot and pseudo-artistic and mostly cryptic character motives leaves the viewer in total left field wondering who, what, where, and when..........
So distinctively made. What a vision.
"Thou Was Mild and Lovely" is a work filled with life. Each scene is unpredictable and each moment is subject to opposing forces and palpable tension. Thus we wander through this encounter, always in the midst of great uncertainty, guided by desire and surrounded by temptation and danger.
"Mild and Lovely"? Bwahaha. Never get involved with a psycho farm gal and her"dad"?(Especially one with shearing scissors.)
I would give it 3.5 stars if the interface allowed more precision. The visuals are beautiful and the director and actors succeed in building an atmosphere. But the narrative does not quite hang together until you get to the final stretch. It lacks maturity, which is all the more obvious because you can sense the potential for quality that could be there and will hopefully be in Decker's other movies. But it is well worth watching.
I don't know why this film got a good review or why it won an award. Didn't like the photography, the out of focus and tight shots did not add to the story line or film at all. The acting on the other had was good.
I would not recommend this film to anyone.
Strange flick, with numerous unexplained narrative details. Sometimes fascinating, but at other times just weird.
Fascinating, deep, engaging, thought provoking.
There's a weird space in this movie that feels like watching a spell be cast. The scene where Joe Swanberg's character is accused of being a witch, isn't far off of the mark. I look forward to seeing what else Decker does.
Liked the film but WHY oh WHY is it labeled COMEDY??!!
definitely NOT
@Elle S. Well, how 'bout that, it seems as though someone heard you. Way to go! :)