Now, while Paul Dano has once again relegated himself to being Hollywood’s favorite piñata for the next director to beat with a heavy wooden stick, I truly believe few shots will continue to haunt me as much as his forlorn gaze in his empty apartment, reminiscing on the love and life that he’s long since lost. It’s a true case of irony that in the end, he’s left only with Sammy by his side - two emotionally stunted men held together by a sincere unspoken love. Nobody does it like Spielberg.
A harrowing and painful true story offering a bristling insight to the shock and terror forced upon a people who have yet to experience peace. Humbling and claustrophobic, a suffocating portrayal of forced complicity in a world where terrible things will continue to keep playing out as all you can do is watch. Poignant cinema and an important tool for educational purposes.
I believe that there’s enough compelling evidence to assert that if Paul Dano didn’t have such a punchable face, Cillian Murphy might be the runner up for current day Hollywood’s resident punching bag. That beautiful blue-eyed babe just cannot go a single piece of media without either being shot, beaten, existentially terrified, or compelled to suicidal ideation, oftentimes all of the above!