10 Cloverfield Lane – Blu-ray review
Director: Dan Trachtenberg
Cast: John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Gallagher Jr.
By Brian M. Sammons
Go see this movie if you already haven’t. Don’t look into it, you might stumble upon spoilers. Forget the title, because it wasn’t filmed under that, and was only changed to that as a skeevy attempt to cash in on another movie’s success. A movie this one really has no link to and I don’t care how hard they attempt to retcon that now. But that bit of marketing trickery aside, do see this movie. It is a slice of awesome, with solid direction and great acting. By that I mean John Goodman deserves a damn Oscar for this work here. So, trust me, if you haven’t already seen this movie, get this Blu-ray and watch it. I’m betting you’ll dig it.
Okay, you still here? Then I will assume you have already seen this one. So you already know how this movie is a great example how something so good can be made with so little. With only three actors and one set (for the most part) this film survives (make that thrives) by the aforementioned excellent acting and direction, but also a taut writing and a story that twist, turns, and continuously ratchets up the tension.
As for the story, I’m going to give as little background as I can, just in case you have yet to see this movie. You really should see this one as blank slate about it as possible. But the nickel tour is this: a young woman (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is in a car accident. When she comes to, she’s in an underground bunker built by an odd duck (John Goodman) with one other person, a young man (John Gallagher Jr). Goodman’s character tells the woman that he saved her. Something horrible happened to the world and everyone outside of this bunker is dead. This nasty wake up surprise is confirmed by the other guy in the bunker. And that’s as far as I really want to go here. The rest of the movie is a tour de force of awesome acting, and an ever deepening mystery of what happened outside of the bunker, and growing dread of what’s going to happen inside the supposedly safe place. As tense and laser focused as Hitchcock’s Lifeboat, this is grade-a suspense thriller movie making right here.
On to the extras on this new Blu-ray/DVD/digital combo pack from Paramount. There is an audio commentary with director Dan Trachtenberg and producer J.J. Abrams that was both fun and very informative. In addition, there are seven short featurettes on all aspects of making this movie that all together run over 34 minutes long. And that’s it. So, this isn’t overloaded with goodies, but neither is it barebones.
10 Cloverfield Lane is an amazing move that does so much with so litter. The first time watch of it is magnificent, but subsequent viewings are just as good. Yes, you know the twists and turns that are coming, but now you can sit back and pick out all the subtle clues that were dropped, and enjoy every nuance of three actors just knocking it out of the park with their performances. I loved every moment I spent with this film and I cannot recommend it high enough.
Available on Amazon.
