MovieChat Forums > Finestkind (2023) Discussion > Really good

Really good

posted 9 months ago by Aries (827)
6 replies | jump to latest

Surprised there are no discussions for this movie. Just finished watching it and it was pretty decent.

Tommy Lee Jones and Ben Foster were great as always. The new guy Toby Wallace was alright too. The movie is not action heavy at all and is just drama for the first two thirds. Character development, cinematography, dialogue and plot were all good and there was NO political BS or checking diversity boxes for the sake of it at all, which was nice to see.

Rated it an 8/10 although it's closer to 7.5 / 10 for me. Reminded me of the flicks from 2010 and before. Solid movie overall and hope they make more like these.

*spoilers*

P.S: Anyone have any theories on who the crew were that robbed them of the heroin?

[–] BeaSouth (3282) 8 months ago

Thanks for posting this Aries. I always appreciate seeing recommendations like this. I will check this movie out

[–] Aries (827) 8 months ago

YW, hope you enjoy watching it. It seems to be getting unfairly panned for some reason - maybe people are expecting it to be an action movie.

Let me know your thoughts after.

[–] BeaSouth (3282) 8 months ago

I agree with your first sentence that it was “pretty decent.” I grade it a B-. Really, I agree with the points you made explicitly and those that I read “between the lines” of what you wrote. Ben Foster was great. Tommy Lee Jones was solid. I didn’t feel Wallace played as an elite intellectual who’d been accepted to a top tier Boston law school. He played his character a little too goof ball with he shaved head like when he met Mabel at the beer keg during the party. I saw zero need for Mabel’s character. And, she was supposedly this girl with heart trying to redeem herself from the bad side of town but she did absolutely nothing redeeming during her arc.

Overall, I felt the movie had the chance to be fantastic in the hands of a more aggressive editor. It was a little over two hours and meandered quite a bit (going to Mabel’s mom’s house for example or the cancer hospital or the first boat sinking) yet still found a way to leave some big questions unanswered (like who the crew was that robbed them of the heroin as you mentioned). I had to take breaks from the movie but I have to admit I kept coming back because I wanted to see how the story played out.

Thanks again for posting on this movie. It was a good Sunday movie investment and I would never have seen it but for your post

[–] Aries (827) 8 months ago

I didn’t feel Wallace played as an elite intellectual who’d been accepted to a top tier Boston law school. He played his character a little too goof ball with he shaved head...

I've actually known a couple of guys like that when I went to university in Australia. They came from a farm and were smart boys, but talked and acted more blue collar esp. at home and around their parents' employees.

Same thing with Wallace's Charlie - the movie made it clear that he loved his brother and wanted to be close to him and live that life, rather than be intellectual or a white collar type like his father. He wouldn't have fitted in with the crew if he talked and acted like a corporate executive. I thought he played the part well. He was a bit goofy at times, but I just took it as him being a happy 22 year old joshing around among friendly company as one of the boys, rather than take the alternate route of pursuing a degree when his heart wasn't in it (which would've slowly destroyed his soul).

As for the rest, yes, I agree, it could've done with a tighter edit and runtime. Didn't care for JO's character much either. Overall, I didn't think this movie was amazing or anything, but it was enjoyable and well above average in this current climate of so many unremarkable, lackluster duds just getting churned out like it's an assembly line. The complete lack of any political BS also definitely made it more likeable for me.

Glad you liked it.

[–] maximmm (3335) 7 months ago

I agree - I'm giving it 8+/10

I do think the whole situation should have been avoided if they had borrowed money from the lawyer dad from the get go..... but then there wouldn't have been a movie

I also think the 3 dudes who got killed prolly had a much bigger crew behind them, so I dunno if the 'happy' ending made sense in that regard.

Still - it has a good message about family - the acting is decent - the plot keeps you guessing - and, well, I think I'm still a sucker for happy endings. Recommended.

[–] Aries (827) 4 months ago

Glad you enjoyed it. Sorry for the late reply.