Bienvenue à Suburbicon

Following the example of Preston Sturges’s later work, Clooney attempts to reconcile two seemingly incompatible positions. He interweaves a very slowly escalating, darkly humorous (if you can laugh at the fact that someone drank coffee laced with lye), Coen-esque thriller about a crime that has gone awry (because the characters are mostly incompetent idiots) with a serious critique of racial intolerance. An African-American family terrorised by their white neighbours is rather left in the background of the narrative (we only know their last name and we almost never hear them speak), which seems to be the point of the film. The members of the majority are frustrated because of the problems they have brought on themselves (which overshadow the more serious problems of society as a whole) and are looking for someone to take their anger out on. Minorities are the first to be targeted. However, the film is quite clumsy in establishing causality between the two types of violence and turns to it relatively late (the closing dialogue does a lot to salvage the situation at the last moment). Furthermore, when we don’t yet know the characters’ true intentions at the beginning, we are led to sympathise with the same protagonists whom we will later despise, which in retrospect strikes me as mere screenwriting trickery that does not in any way help to convey the central idea. The choice of a child’s perspective also comes across as a half-baked idea that is not employed very consistently. Particularly the scenes from Nicky’s perspective heighten the feeling of danger, so that we vicariously experience what a black family goes through. I appreciate what Clooney is trying to say about the mood in today’s America (and not only there), as well as the fact that he didn’t choose the easiest path, but the result is noteworthy particularly for why and how it doesn’t work. 65% (08/11/2017)

This is just so bland. I don't think George Clooney has ever makes a good movie. I found it very clunky, boring and long-winded. Matt Damon wasn't a good fit for the role, the plot didn't work for me, I didn't find anything funny, and there is a minor editing error in the finale, but it doesn't save the film. It made me suffer. 35% (23/01/2018)

Clooney's Hitchcockian take on the Coens, even down to the music by Bernard Herrmann... I mean, Alexandre Desplat. I knew absolutely nothing about the plot and thoroughly enjoyed all its twists and turns and surprising moments, waiting to see what would come of it all in the end. It turned out to be a great film. Definitely less comedic than I expected, but great. (07/06/2020)

I might even go so far as to say that Suburbicon is the best film that George Clooney has made so far. What don’t you like about this? God knows when the Coen brothers wrote the story, George decided to make it into a movie modelled after their previous movies and I think he pretty much aced it. You say the movie is superficial and absurd? Well duh! Twenty years ago, Fargo was no different. It’s all about a simple plot which gets really entangled and about the absurdity of life that can drag you to places you would never imagine. It’s the old worn-out record by Messrs. Coens, but it can still provide great entertainment. And the acting in this one is yummy. I personally can’t understand how such a movie can only have a 56 % rating on this site. Either many people forgot who Joel and Ethan Coen are, or everybody is trying to look cool. I don’t get it. (14/12/2018)

If George Clooney had spent less of his time in cafes with crossword puzzles, smiling and sipping Dolce Gusto (as the advertising banners try to convince me he does), and instead buried himself under the duvet with the script and tried to make the narrative coherent, perhaps, then maybe at least every scene wouldn't look completely disconnected from the rest of the film and the mood wouldn't constantly shift from quirky comedy to historical indictment. Also, maybe the supporting characters wouldn't just be there for one scene and plots wouldn't get dropped before the characters are defined. Maybe Matt Damon could play something other than the character William H Macy played in Fargo, albeit in a different setting. And, most importantly, it wouldn't look like a hastily hashed together artistic riff on current issues in the US that, most importantly, needs to be finished as quickly as possible so it's still relevant by the time it hits theaters. Which is probably something, unfortunately, that nobody really had to worry about in the first place. But he didn't, that cafe-dwelling beatnik. Well, I hope he enjoys his coffee. (09/02/2018)