Review of ‘He went that way’: a lot of fuss, little tension
Director: Dear Jeffrey | Script: Evan M. Wiener | Cast: Jacob Elordi (Bobby), Zachary Quinto (Jim), Patrick J. Adams (Saul) and others Playing time: 95 minutes | Year: 2023
A strange but true story about a serial killer, an animal trainer and a chimpanzee driving down Route 66. It seems like a great basis for a somewhat strange and exciting road movie. Unfortunately he tries He went there emphasize the absurdity of this story so strongly that nothing remains of it. No tension, no interesting characters and not even genuine surprise.
It seems like a poorly invented scenario, but it really happened: in the late 1960s, an animal trainer travels across America with his chimpanzee. The duo gained national fame thanks to the stunts they performed on television. Along the way they pick up a hitchhiker, not knowing that the man is a notorious serial killer. An inevitably bloody ending takes a strange turn when the murderous hitchhiker turns out to be a fan of the famous chimpanzee and decides to let his traveling companions live. After a multi-day road trip, everyone continues their own path. The duo goes on tour again, the traveling companion kills several more people.
With a story like this you don’t need much more than two good actors to play the protagonists. Director Jeffrey Darling thought differently, which is why He went there It has become a grotesque attempt at absurdity. Despite the talent of the main actors Jacob Elordi as Bobby the killer and Zachary Quinto as Jim the animal trainer. Darling makes the two overact to such a degree that the characters are even more unbelievable than the actual story.
Elordi plays Bobby like he’s seen Heath Ledger or Joaquin Phoenix’s portrayal of the Joker too often. With a frown that was too forced and other features that were too rehearsed. The character should be given some depth through memories of previous murders, but there is no real emotional motivation or clear psychological flaw.
We also don’t have to turn to Jim for a deeper layer. Vague phone conversations about an unknown character named Saul and allusions to the end of Jim and Spanky the monkey’s careers are not enough to lend urgency to Jim’s participation in the road trip.
Attempts to put the story, which is already absurd enough in itself, into an absurd or even surreal cinematic style make the whole even more incoherent. Random shots of a lone Native American in the New Mexico desert landscape, or a kid smoking in a parking lot watching Bobby beat up Jimmy, add no value. Strange supporting characters, like a motel owner trying to sell knives or a priest who has abandoned his faith, completely miss the point.
In a slight nod to the Coen brothers, the film begins with a title card that reads, “This really (almost) happened.” The main difference between fargo in He went there is that fargoContrary to what was said at the beginning of the movie and the series, it didn’t actually happen. Therefore, the Coen brothers were able to completely bend the world to their will. But when the real world is already a Coen movie, all you add is a lot of hassle.
He went there can be seen in SkyShowtime.