Vivarium: Stuck in Suburbia


 I just finished watching Vivarium. I hadn't heard of it three hours ago, but I found it on Amazon Prime and the premise was interesting so I watched the whole thing. The best part of the movie is the first twenty minutes. Jonathon Aris gives a fantastic performance as a real estate agent who is more than a little strange. His performance is worth the price of admission.

I won't give you spoilers. The movie is a very strange imaginative exploration of the human condition. It was produced in 2019, but you'd swear it was written during the 2020 quarantine lockdown. It definitely gives you "stuck at home" vibes, along with the gradual unhinging that comes from being around the same people and doing the same things day after day.

The ending is like something out of Stephen King, who is notoriously bad at writing endings. He even makes fun of himself for it. I was very strongly reminded of No Exit by Sartre. This movie is what life without hope looks like. If you want to be very entertained, watch the first 20 minutes. If you want to be horrified by the banality of meaningless existence, watch the whole movie.

I don't recommend you watch it or avoid it. The first few minutes, when the two protagonists meet the strange salesman, are delightful. After that, it swirls down into madness. There is strong language, brief nudity and sexual situations, and mild violence.


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