11/18
The Maynards and their children live a nearly perfect billionaire family life. Amon is an avid hunter but doesn’t shoot animals as the family’s wealth allows them to live completely free of consequences. It took 7 years to finance. Ayn Rand: The Question Is Who’s Going to Stop Me?. Saw this at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Filmmakers Daniel Hoesl and Juliane Niemann clearly have an interesting satirical take on the rich class and while there are some good ideas, it comes across as underdeveloped and not as strong as the film thinks it is. The production designs, camera work, and color presentation are great and really beautiful as they help capture the atmosphere and essence within the characters. The direction by Hoesl and Niemann, while a bit messy, has a clear idea of what style and atmosphere they are going for. Many of the performances are solid, some of the child performances are a bit weak. The narrative is a good concept, but unfortunately it feels as strong as it thinks it is because the narrative comes across as half-baked on some of the issues and the characters don’t manage to connect with it in any way. It doesn’t feel particularly investable or interesting to make an emotional connection with. Like there are some good ideas that don’t really reach the desired potential. There are certain moments that are shocking, edgy, and quite bizarre, and I understand where the filmmakers are coming from and their vision. But it doesn’t feel entirely earned and the style is far too reminiscent of something by Ruben Ostlund or Michael Haneke. Overall, it’s not bad, as there are some moments that I really appreciate. But it could have been stronger.