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Pete Wolf's avatar

Simon 's right, and so is the reply on it still being exactly like a good magic trick. But all the fun is out of it when your 16 year old son tells you "I've seen an old movie the other day, you might like it, kind of weird and twisted like you".....

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Tobias Sturt's avatar

Hah. Weird and twisted and old, eh? That’s what’s happening to us all, I’m afraid

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Simon Stephens's avatar

A characteristically smart and searing piece from team Metropolitan. I have one quibble. You definitely CAN show this film to your kids because that twist still blows their minds and watching it with them, knowing the twist but keeping it to yourself, gives the film a whole new layer of fun it can’t possibly have on first viewing.

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Rowan Davies's avatar

This is true. It’s not often you get the chance to comprehensively wrongfoot a nineteen year old, so you might as well seize the opportunity when it presents itself.

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The Editors's avatar

I mean, this is true and also tempting, although it does rather support the idea that the film is basically a good magic trick that’s fun to show people but only works once.

The cinematic equivalent of sending the apprentice to the warehouse for rainbow paint.

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Tess Dixon's avatar

This makes me wonder: what has changed about filmmaking now that it's not just about pleasing the audience, one time, in the theater?

In *olden times*, only really big superfans made the effort to rewatch things, which got increasingly easier with VHS, rental shops, and streaming. Now it's expected that you'll stream and re-stream something "good" dozens of times (consider the term "comfort-watch.") I'm not saying that this is a good or bad change, just pointing out that it's a change.

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