Stillwater (2021)

Stillwater (2021)

 

6/10

 Starring

Matt Damon

Camille Cottin

Abigail Breslin

 

Directed by Tom McCarthy

 

Stillwater will not get a nod from me as a fantastic film, because it had a very slow start, even though it aimed hard to play it close to reality. That aspect of the movie was hard to overcome, and when it picks up pace, it moves fast and sets itself up for a grand finish. The problem is, they messed up the ending. The ending was a grand letdown, but the middle part of the movie is still fun to watch, despite Stillwater's lapses.

Acting-wise, this movie gets a thumbs up. It made the best use of its actors, and the blend of cultures was cool enough. I guess this will be one of those movies that will be overlooked by many, and I won't blame them. It took a lot of self-will to continue watching because of the slow start, especially since it seemed like Matt Damon’s character (Bill) was just busy running up and down, achieving nothing. But the moment he started behaving like an American—careless, selfish, and believing he runs the town—the movie picked up.

The plot is about a father who travels to France to visit his daughter, who’s imprisoned there for the death of her roommate. The father (Bill) was initially lost in the culture, until his neighbor in France came to his rescue.

Bill’s visit turns into an investigation when his daughter claims her innocence and reveals the name of the person she believes killed her roommate. Bill, wanting to do the best he can to get his daughter freed, almost gets himself killed. But despite everything, we see him lie, kidnap, and put the lives of others around him in danger—all in the aim of getting his daughter free.

It’s at the point of his desperation that the movie picks up, but that’s also when it shifts from some realism to fictitious ideas of what people will do.

The movie is loosely based on the life of Amanda Knox, a woman who was imprisoned in Italy for the death of her roommate. She was eventually freed due to DNA inaccuracies. Watching this movie and seeing how it played out in the end, I don’t think Knox will be one of the people cheering for the publicity of this film.

Well, if you're a fan of Damon, this isn't a bad movie to watch. I won’t tell anyone not to see it, but I will drop the note that the start is slow, the ending is a letdown, and there are some strings left untied when the movie draws the curtain on its long ride.