I saw Looper this week! Read on for
SPOILER-filled reaction comics:
One of the things I liked best about the film was the slow (like, embarrassingly slow) realization that I was NOT rooting for Old Joe. Him killing that little boy was a point of no return,
but I didn't realize until the final confrontation that Old Joe was not our
protagonist. We are so conditioned to side with characters who are motivated by love, it takes time to see that Old Joe is not the wiser of the Joes. In actuality, Young Joe comes to understand the nature of love far better than Old Joe does--he chooses self-sacrifice for the greater good over preserving one individual's experience of love. He sees beyond himself and breaks the cycle so that others can thrive.
I mean, you all saw the movie. You know this. But can we talk about it a bit? That was amazing!
At Sara's first appearance, I asked, "Is this our prostitute friend (Suzie)?" I was not the only one in the group who assumed that it was. Diversity please.
Okay so this movie you guys. Two days ago I would swear up and down that
Safety Not Guaranteed was the best film of the year, but now...I think I'm on team
Looper. Just. Wow. It almost never happens that a movie is that surprising
and makes sense. That it also makes statements about ending the cycle of violence, self-sacrifice, and the subjectivity of good/evil at the end of a shoot-em-up action movie? Incredible.
Details I absolutely loved: Old Joe's falling-in-love montage, Sara's mimed smoke on the porch, Abe's understated death off-camera cuing that he is not our main antagonist, Joe practicing French while waiting to kill someone, frog toy booty call, final shots of Sara and Sid going through daily life together.
Read my reactions to other movies:
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,
Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2,
Skyfall,
The Dark Knight Rises,
Magic Mike,
Brave,
Prometheus
