Suburbicon - Movie Review

Suburbicon is the latest Coen Brothers joint to drop. Directed by George Clooney, the film attempts to expose white bread hypocrisy in a poorly executed film set in what appears to be 1950s suburbia. Had the script focused more on the story and less on abrasive over-the-top stereotypes, the film would have been much crisper. Instead, Suburbicon feels like the aborted love-child of Fargo and The Ladykillers.

Suburbicon is an idyllic community of 60,000 placed somewhere in the 1950s. The community has drawn middle class residents from around the country. The manicured lawns and carbon copy floor plans provide a sense of familiarity. The story begins within the pages of a brochure. Watercolor animation sets the stage for the typical 1950s suburb. All is well until the postman delivers mail to Mrs. Mayers (Karimah Westbrook). It seems the arrival of "negroes" in the neighborhood has upset the delicate balance of white bread idealism. The Mayers share a backyard fence with Gardner Lodge (Matt Damon). Lodge's wife Rose has a twin sister, Margaret (Julianne Moore). Margaret is visiting when burglars pay a late night visit to the Lodge residence. Gardner's son, Nicky (Noah Jupe) is awaken and brought downstairs, where the family is tied to their chairs and put to sleep with ether soaked rags. The ether kills Rose. As the family recovers from this traumatic incident, Nicky's understanding of the world around him shifts. His neighbors are relentlessly hassled by neighborhood residents, he has developed a mistrust of those closest to him, and his father is suggesting he attend a military academy. As the story unravels, we understand that family values is an illusion. The hypocrisy of "freedom" and "morality" is challenged in a way that only self-righteous Hollywood types can really expose it. By injecting their own hypocrisy.

I generally don't mind when Hollywood tries to grind their political axes. That is, when the story they are telling is compelling to me. When the story is nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to bash their political opponents, it becomes propaganda to me. That is the case with Suburbicon. In a nutshell, it seems to me they are attacking two ideals. The first is a parallel with Trump and his immigration policy. When "people of color" move in, there are massive protests. Protests that look more like what the left's antifa engage in than anything related to Trump. Those protests are augmented in the film with an obligatory rebel flag (which seemed a bit anachronistic in this setting) along with the visual necessity to build walls. Yes, the Mayers family is effectively "walled in" by their neighbors. The second prong of this propaganda piece is the ideal of a "traditional family." The Lodge family appears to be a typical suburban family, but the secrets hiding beneath the surface betray those ideals. It seems this film was bent of exposing traditional families as a fairy tale. Of course, it is a strawman created by Hollywood. Those ideals are still the cornerstone of America. In essence, this film feels like an attempt to punch down at Trump voters. If it weren't so narcissistic and self-righteous, the story may have worked. Instead, it feels contrived and excessive.

The best performance in this film is easily awarded to Noah Jupe. He is a cute kid with a great presence. His performance was rock solid amidst a cast of characters who were over-the-top. The characters were cartoonish in their stereotypes. Matt Damon was solid, although his character was disappointing. He did a good job of portraying a stable character that slowly unravels. I liked Julianne Moore as well. Her performance was a bit more subtle, which I appreciated. I also liked Gary Basaraba as Uncle Mitch. His character was designed to be likeable. And over-the-top. But over-the-top fits him. Tony Espinosa was also good as Andy Mayers, the neighbor kid. The casting was excellent in this film. The problems were more in the writing and character development than the performances.

True to Coen Brothers form, Suburbicon has R-rated violence. The MPAA applied the rating for excessive violence which includes a variety of deaths and murders that had a noted gore factor. Strong language and sexuality were also reasons for the rating. The film also has a riot scene targeting a minority family that may be intense for young viewers. This film is not intended for younger viewers. I would suggest early teens as a starting point.

I don't like stereotypes. Regardless who it is engaging in them. I also don't like propaganda thinly veiled as film. To an extent, I might suggest all film has a perspective. A moral to the story. There is nothing wrong with that. But when it is used to unfairly stereotype people or to misrepresent a debate, it stops being film. This story is incomplete. There is no climax. In fact, it leaves a glaring loose end. That loose end added to my dissatisfaction. The production quality of the film and the pacing were both excellent. The acting was strong. The characters were ridiculous and the story was contrived. The imagery used was meant to be controversial. But it detracted from the thinly conceived plot. There were also some weird throw down lines that I think were meant to further the political narrative, but I never really figured out what the writers were attempting to convey. For instance, the police chief thinks Lodge is Jewish. It was a bizarre exchange that didn't further the narrative of the film. Almost an afterthought to make sure they could include as many stereotypes as they could. Not worth watching. I won't go as low as IMDb since the film has redeeming qualities. But a non-recommendation at 5/10.