A young man struggles to readjust to his life after an unprovoked assault.
This blogpost includes spoilers.
WARNING, A LOT OF FLASHING LIGHTS - Like, a lot.
I really enjoyed this film. It was super impressive and absolutely went through the roof of my expectations. The build up of tension just felt so satisfying (like it was scratching a specific part of my brain) and the loneliness of the character and his struggles are portrayed so perfectly. I'm not sure if I have any dislikes that I can think of from this film, or at least at this point of time after my first viewing. The flashing/flickering lights are used as a connection to the assault he experienced, and an indication of a panic attack. The film uses a large amount of close-ups on Dan, the victim of the assault, to further indicate how alone he feels and so it hardly uses any two-shots. We're up-close and personal with Danny. We see his marks and bruises heal, but it is clear that he isn't the same and that he is struggling. We experience manly teasing between him and his mates, but the passage of time and skipping of events (i.e. snippets of him playing football in a montage-like format) shows that his mind is not really present, he is somewhere else, constantly thinking about the assault. He's afraid to talk about how the event affected him, until he gets into a fight with his friend at the end, and is then embraced and comforted by him. Moral of the story, its okay not to be okay and its okay to talk to your friends and family about what is going on in your life, especially if you're struggling. I feel that this is especially the case for men, who feel like they must wear a mask/ensue a facade to fool everyone around them that they are okay when they're not.
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