34/16
The Maynards and their children live a near-perfect billionaire family life. Amon is an avid hunter, but does not shoot animals, as the family’s wealth allows them to live completely free from consequences. It took 7 years to finance. Ayn Rand: The Thing Is, Who’s Gonna Stop Me? I saw this at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Filmmakers Daniel Hoesl and Juliane Niemann have a clearly interesting satirical take on the wealthy class, and while there are some good ideas, it feels underdeveloped and not as strong as the film thinks it will. The production design, camerawork, and color presentation are stunning and truly beautiful, helping to capture the mood and essence of the characters. Hoesl and Niemann’s direction, while a bit messy, has a clear vision of what style and mood they are approaching. Many of the performances are solid, and some of the children’s performances are a bit weak. The story is a good concept, but unfortunately it doesn’t feel as strong as it thinks it should because the narrative feels underdeveloped in terms of some themes and the characters don’t. ;t feel like I’m invested in it and there’s no interesting emotional connection. It’s like there were some good ideas that didn’t really hit the potential they wanted. There are certain moments that are shocking, exciting and quite strange, and I understand where the filmmakers are coming from and their vision. But it doesn’t feel fully earned and the style feels way too similar to something Ruben Ostlund or Michael Haneke. Overall it’s not bad because there are some moments that I appreciate. But it could have been stronger.
