By the Sea

So, after watching the movie....the last one in a string of subtle disappointments in a 4 day movie marathon I treated myself to (and believe me, this includes most of the 2016 Oscar winners and nominees), I have decided that this movie impacted me the most. It moved me. It made me feel something. I related to it, I thought it was very real...YES very real, despite the location, setting, pretty clothes, breasts, make-up and whatever else all the GUYS commented on in their all-encompassing self-wisdom they proclaim to have on women, marriage, and relationships, and most of all, being ENTERTAINED FOR A FEW HOURS. After being married for 25 years, I can totally relate. Relationships are difficult and finding someone who can actually see you for what and who you are and helping you through the troubles and enjoying the good times is very rare. RARE. I commend the couple in producing something very raw and personal in nature and sharing it with everyone. The reality of this movie that no one speaks of in their reviews because they didn't feel like they could sit through 2 hours of a "slow narrative" is that only a small handful of relationships make it through the tough times (oh, for those that are married and don't remember that's the part about "...in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad..."). While I would love to know the average age and gender of the "reviews", somehow I feel I would not be surprised. So here's my rating ladies...if you are young and looking for someone to share the rest of your life with...good or bad, I would say "good luck" because finding a keeper...you have a 3 outta 10 chance.

By the Sea is a voyeuristic portrait of a couple fighting for meaning, sanity, connection after something traumatic happened and took away the flow and the beauty they once had. They are trying to deal with the situation the best way they can, yet keep failing over and over again. Can the beauty be rescued, can they again find the trust they once had, underneath all the pain and disappointment? It takes some time to sink into the rhythm of this movie, since it follows the pace of a real human life, rather than a pace of a popcorn flick. And I applaud Angelina for her courage to stick with this rhythm and create an experience of melancholy and expression that has become quite rare nowadays, and quickly discouraged by the prevailing hunger for fast-paced download of entertaining stimuli. The photography is beautiful, both Brad and Angelina superb in their roles, and I really liked the montage that is respecting the viewers and letting them put the pieces together. I am sad to see the average user rating here, guessing the ratings would have been way higher had the raters not known who the director was. One day after watching it I still feel mesmerized by the atmosphere of the movie.

I'm not going to bore you with a giant wall of text like others have done. I'm just going to give it to you like I see it. The movie was terrible. There is just no other way to explain it. It starts out boring with horrible acting, and just goes downhill from there. Save your money and definitely do not buy this movie. I honestly would not spend the buck to red box it either. I'm thankful I didn't have to pay anything to see this giant heap of garbage. Sorry to be so blunt, but the movie is just terrible. I guess if you want to look for the good in the movie Angelina Jolie does soak in a tub if you're into that sort of thing.