John and the Hole - SPOILER-FREE Review | Sundance 2021
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Directed by: Pascual Sisto
Written by: Nicolás Giacobone
Starring: Charlie Shotwell, Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Ehle, Taissa Farmiga
Runtime: 103 min
Synopsis: While exploring the neighboring woods, 13-year-old John (Charlie Shotwell) discovers an unfinished bunker - a deep hole in the ground. Seemingly without provocation, he drugs his affluent parents (Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Ehle) and older sister (Taissa Farmiga) and drags their unconscious bodies into the bunker, where he holds them captive.
As they anxiously wait for John to free them from the hole, the boy returns home, where he can finally do what he wants.
This edition of Sundance has already delivered a few ambiguous, atmospheric films (Human Factors, In The Earth), but none has surprised or impacted me in a positive way so far. John and the Hole comes close to get a good reaction from me, but it also holds another massive bunker filled with way too many open questions. It’s always challenging to review a movie with an underlying, vague story that I don’t fully understand. In all honesty, there’s an entire storyline I’m either just scratching the surface of something greater, or it’s indeed an underwhelming, insignificant part of the screenplay. Since I can’t put my finger on what it’s truly about, I’m going to ignore it for now and come back later in a second viewing.
Nevertheless, almost the whole film deals with something (apparently) separated from the subplot above. This is where the movie fails to deliver a more captivating narrative. Nicolás Giacobone’s screenplay is packed with intriguing premises and setups, but its respective developments and outcomes are far from extraordinary or surprising. Throughout the entire runtime, I’m waiting for a major energy burst or an impactful event, but these rarely arrive. The viewer follows Charlie Shotwell’s character as the young kid finds himself responsible for everything in his life, but despite the admittedly suspenseful atmosphere keeping me at the edge of my seat (couch), I still hoped for something more substantial to occur.
Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Ehle, and Taissa Farmiga are formidable, transforming a small bunker into the most interesting place in the film due to their fascinating interactions. Seeing their characters trying to stay sane proved to be surprisingly entertaining. However, Shotwell steals the spotlight as expected from such a protagonist-centered narrative. Outstanding performance. Technically, Paul Özgür’s cinematography offers some memorable shots that elevate a few particular sequences, but it’s Caterina Barbieri’s unique score that really generates the tense environment, which kept me curious until the very end.
Pascual Sisto’s direction also deserves praise, but until I see his movie a second or even third time, I don’t believe it’s fair for me to criticize a film I don’t wholly understand for leaving so many questions unanswered. Still, I believe there’s a forced attempt at being entirely ambiguous instead of balancing this aspect with more straightforward elements.
Final Thoughts
John and the Hole is yet another ambiguous entry in this year’s edition of Sundance, but this time, it actually comes close to satisfy me. Ignoring a particular storyline that I don’t fully understand yet (second viewing required), Pascual Sisto’s direction and Nicolás Giacobone’s screenplay leave too many pending questions to my taste, but I can’t deny some of them generate quite an interesting debate within myself. Either I’m just scratching the surface of something greater, or the underwhelming, uneventful, basic developments of intriguing situations are nothing more than exactly that. The phenomenal performances from everyone involved (and I genuinely mean everyone), the exquisite camera work, and the addictive score all add to the incredibly suspenseful atmosphere that kept me invested until the very last second. Still, that ending… I don’t know.
