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User Reviews for: The Art of Self-Defense

Xiofire
CONTAINS SPOILERS7/10  5 years ago
I think this movie is the definition of an oddball comedy. I was never quite sure where I was with this movie with every passing scene, but I can't say I didn't enjoy it. From it's dry, unapologetic humour, to it's somewhat dark resolution; it's juvenile presentation yet deep metaphors/messaging, along with it's surprisingly detailed cinematography (especially usage of colour and grading), TAOSD is stylistically diverse almost to excess, but still manages to somehow work dispite it's scatterbrain delivery.

--- Things I enjoyed but will probably be spoilers below this point ---

[spoiler] I really enjoyed the use of colour in this movie. Casey's entire front room was yellow, directly playing into his main character trope of being a coward. When on the night attack with Sensei, Sensei is lit with red from the bars light, but Casey is still cast in yellow light as he airs his discomfort with the situation. I think I'm going to watch this movie again just to appreciate the detail in the staging and overall use of light/colour, I'm sure there are other examples that I missed on my first go round. [/spoiler]

[spoiler] The movie approached very tough topics such as gun ownership, misogyny and acceptance of ones true self, but never felt overly heavy handed with it's delivery. The off-hand remarks about gun statistics, Anna's attempt to operate as a woman in a heavily masculine environment and Casey's acceptance of who he really is while trying to better himself were all handled very well within the confines of the movies plot. [/spoiler]
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Please use spoiler tags:[spoiler] text [/spoiler]
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