Author: KickingK
Date: Saturday December 06th, 2025
He's a lumberjack and he's ok
This film is a curious mix of artifice and naturalism. On the one hand, the natural lighting of the American landscape is down to earth and gritty. But we're so used to unnatural lighting in films that it invites us to think about the production. The use of the 3:2 aspect ratio literally puts a frame around the screen, also reminding you of the artifice and craft involved.
The camera work switches modes depending on the moment, sometimes staying still for an entire scene, sometimes locking to the character and moving the world around them. It all works well and it's always engaging and effective. But sadly the story or characters didn't draw me in enough to land with me.
The film puts a lot of effort into portraying Joel Edgerton's logger as a decent and kind every-man and completely succeeds, but he's just not interesting. Every aspect of his personality is almost entirely sanded off until the only thing we can really say about him is that he's a hard worker and quietly spoken.
None of the other characters that he meets throughout his life pique much interest as most of the dialogue is theatrical and staged. Each character espousing their opinions at each other, none of it ever connecting with each other or with the viewer.
The worst aspect is the music which is just awful. Plinky-plonk pianos play wistfully, alluding to a tune, alluding to emotion, alluding to meaning but never actually generating any. It's the film soundtrack equivalent of a Coldplay or U2 record. A well crafted shell that sounds important but offers nothing.
Which is a slightly mean way to describe this film. The expanse of the landscape, the length of the time-frame and the philosophising of the script allude to a meaning that the plot and characters simply can't provide.
It's worth a watch for the beautifully shot American forests but nothing more.
