This movie deserved the hype. I probably only have one small complaint about the entire thing.

Armie Hammer was a delight. I mean, the man is tasty and talented but this was such a balanced performance. He had quality body language control, never over playing a scene. His conservative actions in the beginning act of the movie were the exact right touch to validate his later actions without spelling out the future for us.

Timothee Chalamet is, some kinda talent. I’ve not seen him in other things yet but he owned this role with a care and professionally that speak well for his future.

The rest of the cast also played humans like humans. It felt like a cast of people not a cast of actors, in a good way. There was an honesty and understanding from the entire cast that really put the story and emotions at the front.

The filmography was, while not my personal favorite style, completely appropriate for the story and setting. It made the story feel more personal, more warm, more familiar.

The story itself was a beautiful capsule. I’m hearing rumors of a sequel and that concerns me because it was such a complete and clean narrative. But you know what? If it’s the same team working on it then I’ll trust them. The emotion, the scenes they choose to use to progress plot, the character development, all were chosen carefully so even side scenes weren’t superfluous. Everything worked together to give us the final product.

My only issue with the movie was how the music was edited. Not the music, that was good. And now how the music was used, it was matched up well. Only that it was often too loud compared to everything else (the contract was unnecessary and leant nothing to the experience) and abruptly transitioned (in a story where there was a lot of subtly and blending songs abruptly ending without a scene reason interrupted things).

Verdict: 5/5, it’s graphic but in an art way, it’s like a warm sun that isn’t burning your skin or making you squint.