Some Freaks (2016) Reviews

• A good story

  Lugo19892017-11-14

  Some Freaks is a love story between two people who are essentially outcasts in their environment. You will enjoy it if you are looking for something that is different from most mainstream romantic stories. Some people argued that being overweight or wearing an eyepatch does not make a person a freak and that the film presented the idea of that in a false way. The two main characters are not freaks because of their physical appearance but probably perceive themselves as ones in my opinion. It is hard to feel normal when your peers push you away and you keep hearing mean comments wherever you turn. The need to change and belong may become a necessity even if that means suppressing your personality and becoming like people you actually do not like. The characters are in that age where they care what other people have to say about them, they might pretend to be strong but everyone at that age cares, those who actually do not are rare and quite blessed. All of that was portrayed well in my opinion. It is true that there are some clichés present but it does not distort the message of the story which is the most important thing. Hats of to all the actors for doing a wonderful job as well. Definitely recommended if you are looking for a love story that feels a bit more real that most of them out there.

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• Fairly impressive indie film.

  CinematicInceptions2016-12-09

  Though it is primarily an off-beat romantic comedy, there is a strong theme of dark yet hopeful commentary on how relationships work in America's current social state. I have heard time and time again, as you probably have, that love has the power to win the day and overcome all things. While that is true, it does not mean that love will win the day every time or even the majority of the time. This isn't the first on-screen relationship to address how complex being in love with someone can be because of all of the outside factors that play into both parties' lives. Now, I don't watch a lot of romantic movies and even less romantic comedies, but this film felt original to me. It didn't seem to degenerate into the usual tropes that I've heard most rom-com's fall into and had its own unique style. I was fortunate enough to have an audience Q and A with the director and several of the actors after seeing this at the Rhode Island Film Festival in August. The director, Ian MacAllister McDonald, said that one of his main objectives with this story was to create a love story for types of people who don't typically get their own love stories. For this reason, I hope that this gets a broad theatrical release at some point, because a love story about "unattractive" people is exactly what Hollywood needs right now. Beyond just the social commentary aspect, it's quite enjoyable to watch. The whole audience had tangible reactions to the couple of very awkward and uncomfortable scenes. The scattered humorous bits were pretty spot on, as well and got some good laughs from the audience. The acting was also quite solid, especially considering that the actors are largely unknown. The dialogue felt very realistic, even though the script as a whole was not fabulous. If this comes to your local film festival, I would recommend that you at least consider seeing this as opposed to whatever else is showing at the time. Since you probably won't be provided with MPAA ratings at any given festival, I can safely say that this would be rated R were it broadly released. Even if this is not showing, go check out the film festivals near you. It's a great opportunity to see some movies that, while they may not have big- name actors or awesome visual effects, are nonetheless good and cannot be found anywhere else. Overall Rating: 7.2/10.

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• I enjoyed it.. SO MUCH!!

  purplesanz2017-08-15

  I spotted this last night, and, as soon as I saw the synopsis, it immediately caught my attention, so I gave it a try, and wow! It was fantastic!! I usually hate indie movies or videogames, whether due to the shaky- hand-held camera, or bad lighting/post process, or horrible music, or terrible acting, or poor special effects, they feel "cheap" and I hate that feeling. This movie, however, felt so professional, so well made, the acting was very solid, the camera was shaky sometimes, but static for the most important scenes; the lighting/places/shooting felt very right to me, and the story was very well written in my honest opinion. The only times when it felt "very indie" to me was when Marin Ireland was on screen, I don't know why, but I didn't like her acting for the most part. The soundtrack was not bad, but it could have been a lot better. Perhaps the only thing I didn't like, was the ending, it made me feel like it was rushed, like it didn't have a proper "closure", but perhaps I'm just being biased, it's not bad at all. Give it a shot if you have the chance, I doubt you will regret it.

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• Great movie about reality, transformation

  pgangloff2016-07-25

  I went to see the movie as part of Fantasia in Montreal. I wasn't sure what to expect given that fantasia digs into very deep extremes at times but was really positively taken aback by the movie. The harsh reality of people making choices based on where they're coming from. You truly can't judge someone you don't know. There was a Q&A at the end of the projection and I agree with the person who commented that the score fit so well with the movie that I didn't realize there WAS a score until I consciously thought, wait, I have to listen to the score, this is part of why I'm here: Walter Sickert! It's only the second time that I go to a movie premiere where so many of the actors actually show up for a Q&A at the end and that was truly awesome. You see them for 2 hours on the big screen and get attached to them and then, boom, they're there, 10 feet from you. Wow! I was expecting a movie mostly made in Rhodes-Island by people from RI but that was a surprise as well to see actors from all over. It truly is also a story of transformation. There was this great question about the main character's transformation and how she was coached by the same crew as the one in "the biggest loser", etc. The actors were AWESOME, I made sure to take a couple of pics during the Q&A so that I could take them out when some of them become super famous :) Eli Henry: I either have seen him somewhere else or am channeling that I'll see him soon on ever bigger screens soon. I loved that he kept converting Farenheit to Celcius for us Montrealers :) And Jill: amazing! Oh, only "not sure" part of this movie is when it starts with the "shoulder mounted?" camera. I'm always leery for these kinds of shots, they make me dizzy so was glad that it was only the first shot and then things got stable again (very minor). Great shot but just a personal thing. I hope this movie goes far and wide into as many festivals as possible because it is so good to see. I'd watch it again to catch more details, great movie. I should add: the characters were great. You could believe in their motives/reactions/background/etc. I hate when you watch a movie and think they make dumb decisions that make no sense. You truly get sucked in by your image and sometimes the only way you can change how people see you is by changing your image. There was this TED talk that proved that just your posture can change how you're viewed. So, is it "selling out" to change your image just to match what you want to project? To match your mental image? And when you change your image, how long does it take for "others" to accept the new image or to ditch you because you don't match their mental image anymore? So many thoughts after this movie. I wish I had asked this question to Lily Mae Harrington (Jil, the main character). After all she LIVED this transformation in this movie and might live through some of these questions. Does your proximity change because you don't fit in their mental image anymore? You don't fit in that box that they put you into? Don't we all do that? Aren't we all judging someone in 2 seconds and if we can't fit someone in a box fast enough, we ask questions until we can make them fit in some kind of mental box? Repeat: each person is unique and can change and is allowed to evolve and change. Embrace change, embrace diversity :)

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• Can't say this was an enjoyable movie but..

  LukeCustomer22018-10-21

  High school is a terrible place. Matt is in his senior year of high school and has to wear and eye patch. Obviously this makes him a target. As he puts it later he spends his entire day just trying to make it through. So he is caught off guard when he meets and falls for a girl. And overweight girl. Who, like him, has become a "freak" due to being over weight and perhaps how she dresses due to it. Matt falls hard but eventually the girl, Jill, has to go back to her home and go to college. It is here when the movie turns on its head. Jill secretly loses weight and dresses more conservatively and Matt gets a "glass" eye. But Matt isn't ready to trust in Jill's feelings for him now that she isn't a freak and spends most of his time sabotaging her. This leads to a wrenching fight and some self destructive behavior giving them some good lessons. Some movies have taken up the theme before when one member of the relationship changes ... is it really the same relationship? This does an especially nice job at exploring that though, I can't say it was a fun ride. More like an important one.

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