I adored just spending time with the characters because I was anticipating what they would say and do next. Duffield's screenplay is brimming with wit and the conversational banter flows with such a confident cadence, all while not being overly mellifluous and self-satisfied. There are some fun asides where other characters take over narration duties, but this is chiefly her movie and she's delightfully odd, prickly, and worthy of our attention. We're primarily seeing the world from the perspective of Mara and her narration and occasional fourth-wall breaks. Make no mistake though, Spontaneous is an uproariously funny movie. It takes the coming-of-age setup and deftly dials up the emotional stakes. With an omnipresence of tragedy, it pushes the characters to make the most of their potentially short lives and that brings a greater significance to their next steps, the little attempts to "feel like an adult," to reach for their desires, and to declare who they are while they are still standing to do so. What you will do is start to dread who is next and whether that explosion sound was someone you liked. It's sudden and something that you, even as a viewer, will never get used to. ![]() ![]() Each one of these kids is a potential suicide bomber and they don't know it. I laughed a few times, I'll admit, because the context can become darkly hilarious and absurd, but it's also a natural human reflex to relieve tension. Their budding romance dances with tragedy and dread as we worry over the fate of our lovers surely, with this horrific premise, they won't end happily ever after, or could they? Every time another student exploded, I winced. Can these two crazy kids make it and grow up when their own bodies might betray their fleeting happiness?Īlmost instantaneously I was drawn into the romance between Mara and Dylan, and I enjoyed deeply how each helps to shape the other, finding a sincere connection in the most extreme and unexpected of circumstances. Dylan (Charlie Plummer) introduces himself to Mara and they begin a tender courtship, falling in love during a precarious time where either of them could explode and soak the other in gore and viscera. Her dreams of a life after graduation might never come true. Mara (Katherine Langford) just wants to live to grow into a badass older lady who lives on the beach with her best friend Tess (Hayley Law). Nobody knows why, nobody knows who will be next, and even after a government quarantine, the answers aren't any clearer. So the senior class of Covington High School has a serious problem. ![]() Spontaneous is a dark comedy that can also make you feel something because it doesn't simply treat its characters as disposable punchlines. This is Duffield's debut as a director and I feel like he's a natural fit for the quirky, blood-soaked material. Writer/director Brian Duffield has been one of the most exciting screenwriters for years, penning highly inventive stories that have a distinct, vivacious comedic voice that leaps off the page and smacks you across the face with how good it is, and then you ask for more (check out The Babysitter for the closest representation of what a Duffield screenplay delivers skip the sequel though). The more I think back about this bizarre little movie, based on the YA novel by Aaron Starmer, the more affection I have for it and its messy accomplishments. Spontaneous is a movie that grabbed my attention immediately, made me laugh quickly, and then made me fall in love over the course of its explosive 100 minutes.
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