'The Guest' movie review & recommendation

Actor Dan Stevens, most notably from the television show Downton Abbey, plays David in this psychological thriller.  The premise of this movie is as follows: David arrives at the home of a deceased soldier, whom David claims he served with in the military, and is greeted by the deceased soldier's grieving family consisting of a father, mother, brother, and sister .   David explains to the family of the deceased soldier that his dying words were for David to reach out to his family and simply let them know the soldier loved them very much.  The mother initially suggests that David stay in their home while David search for a more permanent situation.  After the father learns of the invitation, there is a scuffle between the mother and father as to the arrangements offered to David.  Eventually, the father concedes and extends the invitation for David to stay; David accepts.

The brief summary of the happenings in the very first moments of the film seem quite mundane and undramatic.  However, I must say that the acting by Stevens playing the character of David is, from the very outset of the movie, in a word: creepy.  Not overtly creepy like Jack Nicholas in The Shinning , but much more subtle like when the high E string is plucked on a guitar that is slightly out of tune; it's disturbing to the ear but not enough to make one cringe.  David's stature, square jaw, piercing blue-eyes, calming voice, and aloof personality in conjunction with his polite demeanor and overall charisma make David a complex character.  When David's character is viewed in the context of the scene describe above, one can easily infer that there is more to the story than David is letting on.   David's persona, throughout the entire film, has calming yet unnerving effect in every situation, which makes earns the film its 'psychological' piece of psychological thriller.  I would venture to say that if Stevens' acting was not on point for this film, then I would not have bothered to watch it or recommend anybody else watch it.

So, in order to not give any spoilers, I shall simply summarize the rest of the story just enough to where you can make an informed decision about whether to give it chance or not.  David infiltrates the deceased soldier's household and begins develop relationship with the members of the soldier's family.  David, furthermore, becomes the healing presence for the family's grief, but simultaneously being an object of skepticism.  The plot is ingrained in David's ability to befriend the members of the deceased soldiers family: the brother, who has a tendency to be the object of others' ridicule and aggression, ally with the daughter, who is still in adolescent stage of life wherein the consequences of life have not set in, the mother, who has just lost a son and is ignored by the father, and the father, who is an alcoholic drinking to suppress whatever pity he may have for himself.  These relationships are crucial to David's intentions and thus have significant importance in how the story-line plays itself out.

There are, of course, twists and turns within the plot.  Some of which will be anticipated by the viewer who is a frequent watcher of this genre of film.  However, there is one plot twist that is especially noteworthy (I will not detail it any further) and almost changes the direction of the entire film.  I caution the viewer of this not to spoil anything, but to exploit a potential hiccup in the film's plot that may leave the viewer with a bad taste in their mouth.  There is some gore involved but nothing over the top.  The film proceeds at a steady pace most of the time; however, there are scenes that seem to drag on longer than necessary where a shorter scene could be just as effective.  Overall, it's a decent film for those who like character development depth (nothing too deep though)  and appreciate a manipulative plot with some action scenes thrown in for good measure.

I am interested in reading future comments about what everybody thinks who has either seen this movie or sees it in the future with regards to their reaction toward the ending.  Particularly, I am interested in reading thoughts on the response to this question: Did the ending make or break the movie?

This movie as of 1/17/2016 is still available on Netflix for those of you who hold a subscription.

Film and The Self: Do the films we enjoy reveal our character?

It is not a stretch to suggest that every able-minded person will, at some point in their life, ask the question: Who am I?  Some individuals will settle on answers in the form of a preordained societal list containing various adjectives representing their respective value system for better or worse.  Others may not be inclined to settle on answering the question in such straight forward terms.  Instead, these individuals may wish to use similar adjectives but redefine them to fit their own value system, again for better or worse.  Some may even be hesitant to apply any adjectives to themselves for fear of commitment to any value system.  Some individuals may see the self as a process and not subject to a fixed description.  Others may reject the question entirely and argue the self is an illusion.  This is not an exhaustive list; however, it does reflect some popular ways that individuals handle the question.

When making our determinations about who we are, what evidence or reasons do we appeal to in order to provide an answer?  Some may look at their consumer possessions i.e. car, diamonds, houses, furniture, fashion items etc. Others may consider their relationships with others i.e. mothers to children, wives to husbands, cousins to uncles, grandparent to grandchild.  Yet others might ask whether they live according to a religious belief system i.e. Judaism, Christianity, Muslim, Hindu etc.  We might consider everything together, but still weigh one area more heavily than others  i.e. the billionaire may weigh his material possessions more heavily than his religious belief system.  Again, the list is not exhaustive, but sufficient to make the point that answering the simple question, "Who am I" requires a complex answer.

One area that may reveal a great deal about ourselves to ourselves and help us answer the question "Who am I" is considering the genres of film we enjoy.  What can be inferred by an individual regarding their personality, who prefers slasher horror genre to romantic comedies.  Why would one have that preference?  How does having that preference effect the view of themselves toward themselves?  I cannot provide answers to these questions.  Answers, if there are any, are reserved for the selves that contemplate the question "Who am I" and use the films they enjoy as evidence for who they think they are.

Movie genres are often not exclusive.  Often times a movie that generally fits into a genre will also have elements of another genre.  Likewise, the individual may have personality characteristics fitting a genre; however, the individual may have elements of other genres as well.  However, we are often closed off from discovering what other elements of other genres we possess.  Perhaps this is why film is a superior choice of evidence when considering the question "Who am I," rather than using consumer goods, relationships, or even religious belief systems.  The human personality is a complex enterprise.  Cornering ourselves into one genre does not allow for us to account for our complexity and diversity.  For example, I may only consider myself a Christian, husband, and father according to the value system of my community.  Here, I have closed myself off to considering what other elements from other genres I possess.  Maybe examining the films I enjoy would help unearth my complexity and my diverse elements incorporated from those other genres?

Asking ourselves "Who am I" is a difficult and burdensome question.  Nonetheless, it's a question we are destined to confront at some point in our lives.  We are also destined, for better or worse, to categorize, label, and box ourselves into genres, which is not, in and of itself, a disservice to ourselves.  However, the damage is done when we allow ourselves to know ourselves by only one genre and not consider the elements from other genres.  This is where film can assist us in answering the question "Who am I?"

Let us know how your personality is reflected by the genres of film you enjoy in the comment section.