There is a thin
line between a mediocre movie that makes me sad and angry for having wasted my
time on it and a mediocre movie that is harmless but that one can still
appreciate for its intent and vibe. This distinction is in no small part thanks
to the budget and personal touch that a picture enjoys. If it’s a big ol' wide
release with a bajillion dollars behind it and it sucks I will judge it a lot
harsher than I would if it were a not-very-good indie project. I like Jake
Johnson and I wanted Self Reliance, which he directed, wrote, and
starred in, to be good. It is, unfortunately, pretty middling, but that doesn’t
mean I hate myself for watching it.
The plot is patently absurd—Jake Johnson’s
character, finding himself in a rut, agrees to participate in a dark web-hosted
gameshow in which he could win a million dollars if he survives thirty days of
being hunted by various professional assassins. He quickly finds a loophole,
however: Participants can only be killed when they are alone. During his thirty
days he forms an alliance with a fellow player played by Anna Kendrick,
reconciles with his father, and learns to live every day to its fullest. To say
that this set up requires a healthy dose of suspension of disbelief is putting
it mildly, and the film makes the unfortunate choice of playing this silly
premise more or less completely straight, stretching its acceptability to the
breaking point. I would not have been nearly as bothered by the illogical
nature of the game if the film were played as an absurdist comedy, yet the film
never goes as far as it should, instead insisting that we take things at face
value.
Self Reliance has its amusing
bits, yes, but it is not what I would call funny, which is a darn shame
considering the talent behind it. And if you got the impression that it is an
exciting film from my description you would also be mistaken, as the menace
doesn’t ever feel too inescapable, nor is it the type of movie to have
drawn-out fight scenes, gun fights, or explosions. It is much more character
driven, and it’s not even really great at that, as the characters are fairly
one-dimensional and bland. Anna Kendrick’s character in particular is
completely devoid of anything even resembling an arc, her personality a mystery
even at the end of the film.
So why didn’t I dislike Self
Reliance more? I guess it’s because the movie and the people who put
the work into making it had their hearts in the right place, which goes pretty
far for me when it comes to judging films. It’s short, has a few feel-good
moments, and ultimately I didn’t hate that I spent a bit of my evening watching
it. It could have been better and should have been better, but it could have
also been much, much worse.
Self Reliance is now available
on Hulu.
This review was first published in the
Keizertimes on February 23rd, 2024. Visit at www.keizertimes.com
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