No One Will Save You
No One Will Save You is streaming on Hulu at the time of writing. Rated PG-13. Common Sense says 14.
STORY: B+
I could talk about how exciting and rare it is to find a movie like this. I could talk about all of its virtuoso visual storytelling. I could talk about the sense of terror that will slowly slip up your spine as the story rolls toward its bizarro resolution.
But not today, readers! I need to talk about something that’s always bothered me. There’s one thing that happens in nearly every alien movie that I just can’t get over. It even happens in E.T., a universally beloved classic.
Would someone please tell me why the aliens always show up to our planet butt naked?
This film (and the hundreds of alien films before it ) asks us to believe some unbelievable things. Yet it’s difficult to suspend our disbelief when the unbelievable things aren’t presented in a believable way.
This isn’t a knock on No One Will Save You as much as it’s a knock on the entire history of Hollywood. Naked aliens don’t sink the story’s grade too much. But come on Hollywood. At least put some parkas on those green guys!
PEOPLE: A
Its silence may grab all the headlines, but this film excels thanks to Kaitlyn Dever’s committed and precise performance.
A story is a series of details that somebody presents to us. Details that we then weave together in our heads into something we consider a “story”. This is a rare film that doesn’t use dialogue to give us information. Its information delivery system is Kaitlyn Devers. She doesn’t open her mouth and scream, “Gadzooks, this is one majorly freaky situation! But I’ve got something to tell ya … today is NOT the day I’m gonna get eaten by aliens!”
Yet her eyes, her body language, and her facial expressions say it just as clearly as her voice would. She communicates so much without saying a word, never letting up for the film’s 93 minutes.
Most of the other characters aren’t on screen for more than a couple minutes, but the ill-tempered mailman certainly makes an impression. He kinda rules.
FILM NERD STUFF: B
If a film isn’t going to contain much dialogue, it’s going to have to rely on the camera to tell the story. The camerawork here does a fantastic job of telling us what we need to know.
When the camera is placed far away, Brynn’s isolation is highlighted. She’s vulnerable, and the fear factor creeps up a few clicks. When the camera is placed on the ground, Brynn looks bigger. It means she’s about to get the upper hand on her spacey home invaders.
Even the colors help tell this tale. The more threatening moments are dark and washed in a swampish-green hue. Whenever the color scheme changes, the impact on the film’s tone is immediate and clear.
Many films also use the camera this much in their storytelling. We notice it more when there’s no words to listen to. No One Will Save You’s cinematography is close to flawless.
FAST FOOD AGAIN??? (Elective Class): A-
Don’t get me wrong. I love the summer movie season. Summer is Marvel time. Summer is a months-long sequel fest! Summer is an opportunity to turn off your brain and shove gallons of popcorn in your popcorn hole.
Usually some time around April, I’ll scan a list of all the gargantuan, upcoming summer movies. At first the roster excites me to no end, but invariably I soon begin to feel a tad bit depressed. I don’t like the feeling of Hollywood telling me what I’ll like. That list starts to sound like an exasperated parent telling his stubborn youngster, “You’ll eat it and you’ll like it!” It’s like when a person tries to impress a date by ordering for them, assuming their own tastes are perfect.
By August (sometimes mid-July), all those movies start to taste the same. I find myself yearning for something new. I crave something I haven’t seen before (or at least in a long time). I want a movie that doesn’t feel like the only reason it was made is because it’s probably going to make a ton of cash. I want one made by people chanting, “Let’s try this wacky but super groovy idea and see if people dig it!”
If you want to watch a movie like that, watch No One Will Save You.
FINAL COMMENTS:
Go watch it. Really. Do it.