Vivarium (2019) ***
Vivarium (2019) is a Kafkaesque slow burn sci/horror thriller that plays like an extended The Twilight Zone (1959–1964) or Black Mirror (2011–present) episode. It satisfyingly and ambiguously leaves many things up to the viewer to decipher and it leaves one feeling truly unsettled and even a bit hopeless.
There have been plenty of other satiric/dystopian movies centered on the lie of domestic suburban bliss and/or ones which posit humans as living in a simulation. But rather than simply focus on the endless monotony or the "joys" of parenting, Vivarium makes an interesting parallel between this supposed utopian ideal and the parasitic lifecycle of cuckoo birds. Imogen Poots gives a terrific performance, but as usual Jesse Eisenberg (whom I've only enjoyed in a few films) leaves me cold—and not even in a way that would befit his character. I think the film would have benefited from a different male lead.
Vivarium reminded me a bit of Denis Villenueve's Enemy (2013) (review), which is a superior film, but this is a good film too and one I would recommend for those that don't mind a slow pace and don't need everything easily digested.
There have been plenty of other satiric/dystopian movies centered on the lie of domestic suburban bliss and/or ones which posit humans as living in a simulation. But rather than simply focus on the endless monotony or the "joys" of parenting, Vivarium makes an interesting parallel between this supposed utopian ideal and the parasitic lifecycle of cuckoo birds. Imogen Poots gives a terrific performance, but as usual Jesse Eisenberg (whom I've only enjoyed in a few films) leaves me cold—and not even in a way that would befit his character. I think the film would have benefited from a different male lead.
Vivarium reminded me a bit of Denis Villenueve's Enemy (2013) (review), which is a superior film, but this is a good film too and one I would recommend for those that don't mind a slow pace and don't need everything easily digested.
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