Review: A Cure for Wellness
A Cure for Wellness... A Cure for Boredom
There were many moments where I was scared for the characters in the film and even a moment when I yelled at the screen, “You idiot!”, so It had all the hallmarks of a scary movie. If you like to puzzle out who what is really happening and enjoy searching for clues in the dialogue/background scenes, then this movie is for you. If on the other hand, you are one of those people who insist on timeline integrity and for every little detail to make sense, then you should avoid this film. Not all the clues lead to the truth and not every scene is consistent, but a Cure for Wellness was still A Cure for Boredom.
The film stars Dane DeHaan, not somebody I know... and yet I kept feeling like he was a younger, snottier version of Leonardo DiCaprio. He did play the Green Goblin in The Amazing Spider Man, which I enjoyed. My lack of recognition was one of three things: he is either a crazy talented actor who blends seamlessly into new roles, entirely forgettable, or well costumed. His performance was believable and for the most part unlikable. I didn’t much care for Lockhart. It’s not DeHaan’s fault though, he was written to be irritating, self aggrandizing, and sort of dumb.
Volmer, played by Jason Isaacs, on the other hand was delightful to watch, even though I knew the whole time that there was something creepy about him just under the surface. Once you know, as the film so dramatically tells us, you can’t unknow. In the same way, once you have seen Jason Isaacs as a villain it might be difficult to see him in a friendly light in future projects.
Hannah (Mia Goth), the ingenue of the film was creepy at first, but the more you get to know her, she becomes the one character that you can relate to. While she may not be entirely sane and walks around everywhere barefoot, she does appear to have some redeemable qualities. Like myself (the audience member) she had no idea what was going on and was just sort of waiting for someone to tell her.
While I would not recommend that you watch A cure for Wellness in the theater, I would highly recommend that you ensure that you have used the facilities before you press play at home. . The movie is 2 hours and 26 minutes long and it spends a lot of its focus on water. The sound of water, the motion of water, the healing power of water, things that live in water, etc. Maybe watch this movie during the day....near a bathroom.
A Cure for Wellness comes out February 17th in theaters nationwide.
