Dystopian thriller with A-lister in first huge position is now cult hit | Films | Entertainment | EUROtoday

A dystopian thriller with Dwayne Johnson in certainly one of his first ever performing roles has been panned as a cult traditional, nearly 20 years since its premiere.

Southland Tales, directed by Richard Kelly, is a black comedy thriller with a star-studded ensemble solid.

Alongside Johnson is Seann William Scott, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Mandy Moore, and Justin Timberlake.

Southland Tales is about in a dystopian United States below the specter of nuclear assault, and follows the tales of three folks whose lives grow to be intertwined.

Johnson performs a film star referred to as Boxer Santaros who’s planning his subsequent movie with the assistance of Krysta Now, an grownup movie actress (performed by Gellar). It is that can be purchased on Amazon and Apple TV.

The movie premiered in 2006 and was launched theatrically in 2007 to a polarised viewers. It solely made $374,743 throughout its worldwide theatre run, and reviewers criticised its long term time of 144 minutes. It was famously savaged on the Cannes Film Festival, with critics throwing round phrases like “mess”, “disastrous”, and “plotless”. However, within the following years, it developed one thing of a cult following due to its sheer uniqueness.

One reviewer wrote on IMDb that the movie is “sci-fi meets drama meets art meets philosophy”, including: “Southland Tales is deep, honest, and complex. This film requires more than one viewing, period. If you’ve drawn your conclusion from one viewing, you’ve already missed the point. Also, if Donnie Darko was too weird for you and Transformers 2, et. al, is your kind of movie, stay away from this.”

Another stated: “Wow! One of the more interesting and stimulating films I’ve seen in a while. Southland Tales is like David Lynch meets Mel Brooks meets Robert Altman meets Mathew Barney meets Baywatch. Jam packed with ideas and passion this film is all over the place and should be seen with an open mind and by no means try to figure it out while you are watching. Just enjoy.”

A 3rd acknowledged that the movie might attempt to wrap itself round too many alternative topics however wrote: “In any event, it is mighty fun, entertaining and interesting, which is more than enough for me.”

In 2019, 13 years on, Johnson stated that “Southland Tales hurt”. He instructed IndieWire: “I took it in the gut. We all went into that movie having so much trust, and a script that was complex and interesting. At times, you’re like, ‘What the f*** is going on?’ Richard Kelly, who was a good friend, was so passionate about that movie.”

He stated he remembered the solid’s publicists “sweating” after the movie’s screening at Cannes. Johnson recalled: “It was tough because we went all the way over there and we were shrouded in mystery. We were the movie that everyone wanted to see, but we had no business being at Cannes, because it was unfinished.”