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The Mountain
2019 106 min United States of America
★6.6
Drama
Director: Rick Alverson
Trailers
Description
1950s America. Since his mother‘s confinement to an institution, Andy has lived in the shadow of his stoic father. A family acquaintance, Dr. Wallace Fiennes, employs the introverted young man as a photographer to document an asylum tour advocating for his increasingly controversial lobotomy procedure.
US Gross:
$61,035
Worldwide:
$61,035
Starring
Tye Sheridan
Actor
Udo Kier
Actor
Larry Fessenden
Actor
Awards
Venice Film Festival 2018
— Golden Lion
Key opinion
The Mountain is a highly stylized, atmospheric drama that divides audiences and critics with its cold, detached approach to storytelling. While many praise its visual beauty and philosophical ambition, others find the narrative aimless and the characters emotionally inaccessible.
| Cinematography | The film utilizes an exquisite, symmetrical visual palette and muted colors that successfully evoke a sense of deep, heavy melancholy. | |
| Acting | Jeff Goldblum delivers a compelling, authoritative performance as the lobotomy-obsessed doctor, effectively embodying a complex god-like figure. | |
| Pacing | The narrative is anchored by a sluggish, viscous pace that some view as a deliberate, meditative artistic choice, while others perceive it as a monotonous and exhausting experience. | |
| Screenplay | The screenplay is caught between being an elegant, philosophical exploration of grief and memory, and an underdeveloped narrative that leaves its central characters feeling like hollow, passive ciphers. | |
| Direction | The director prioritizes abstract, painterly aesthetics and formal rigor, leading to a debate over whether the film achieves profound metaphysical depth or merely hollow, stylish excess. |