Streaming on Apple TV+
I once said that film is about two things: presentation and execution. If one of these elements is too weak, the other can sometimes carry the film across the finish line, dragging the weak points along. Nine times out of ten, we experience movies with excellent presentations only to be disappointed with lackluster execution. Consider films like Disney's Frozen or most of Zack Snyder's films as examples.
Today's subject, The Gorge, is a reasonably even film with a 50% passable presentation and 50% engaging execution. While both elements still don't manage to reach 100%, I forgave some of the film's shortcomings due to the sheer creepy creativity at play. Although I would not proclaim it my favorite film of the year so far, my time did not feel wasted, despite how often it reminded me of better films I could have been watching, albeit in a pleasant way.
The story follows two people: an American mercenary named Levi (Miles Teller) and a Lithuanian assassin named Drasa (Anya Taylor-Joy). They are tasked with spending one year guarding opposite sides of a mysterious fog-filled gorge located in the middle of nowhere. Much to their surprise, strange creatures occasionally try to escape from the gorge, and our heroes are tasked with keeping them in their place. Defying direct orders of no communication between each other, the two fighters decide to get to know each other more and form an unexpected bond. As their feelings grow, so does their curiosity about what lies within the gorge.
First, the good:
The story's general setup, plot, and concept are remarkable and fascinating. I thoroughly enjoy stories that take minimalistic ideas (single locations, few characters, etc.) and use them to their fullest extent with a fabulous science fiction-oriented spin. Most of the writing is surprisingly better than what I might have expected, given the script was penned by Zach Dean, late of The Tomorrow War (one of my most disliked films of 2021,) with decent character development, engaging story turns, and clever references to other movies and shows aplenty, especially the humorous nods to the cast's and director's previous works. Speaking of, the cast has pretty solid chemistry, works well off each other, and succeeds in holding their own when performing solo. While Anya Taylor-Joy has always been a powerhouse, Miles Teller has come a long way in proving his chops.
Next, the bad (or at least not as impressive):
The Gorge, entertaining though it may be, is yet another modern film with all of the trappings that come with it. I have been railing about it for a few years now, specifically overly dark cinematography and nearly inaudible dialogue. Not to mention a plot twist which, while I won't spoil here, is as cliché as they come despite having an opportunity to do something different, at least perceivably.
Photographed by Dan Laustsen, late of the John Wick sequels and frequent collaborator with Guillermo del Toro, The Gorge employs an annoyingly super-dark aesthetic with too many heavy shadows and an overabundance of underexposed images, even in daytime scenes. While I understand the likely justification behind this creative choice, creating a chilling atmosphere to accompany the scarier aspects of the story, it fails here due to a lack of contrast. I will never tire of saying this so long as it bears repeating; you can have a dark style, but never forget contrast; otherwise, your audiences will struggle to comprehend what's on-screen. That is when they're not distracted admiring their reflection in the black mirror.
The sound design is also guilty of perceived laziness. Like so many modern movies and shows, much of the dialogue is delivered in barely audible mumbles and gruff whispers, forcing the viewer to compensate by increasing the volume. This, in turn, causes the action scenes with gunfire, explosions, and monster shrieks to reach critical mass levels of loudness. I rewatched a few scenes on a different setup with a decent soundbar as an experiment. While it was technically better than the initial viewing experience, I still raised and lowered the volume far too often.
These technical "choices" are becoming too frequent in modern movies and only hinder the best viewing experience possible. I think that a cabal of producers is deliberately trying to sabotage modern cinema for some yet-to-be-revealed evil plot.
The Gorge is a decent monster movie with a creative setup and enough talent in the right places for an engaging and fun experience. However, its overly dark photography and inexcusable sound mixing diminish what otherwise might have been a four-star film. The talent of the cast, the director, and the much-improved skills of the writer save this film from a two-star rating. If you're the least curious and have an Apple TV+ subscription, give it a shot. Otherwise, I recommend watching some of the other films The Gorge reminded me of at times, like The Bourne Identity, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and Predator.
Worth a look.
Ladies & gentlemen, I am TheNorm; thank you all for reading.
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