I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore (2017)

Genres

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Director

Macon Blair

Country

USA

Cast

Melanie Lynskey, Elijah Wood, David Yow, Jane Levy, Devon Graye, Christine Woods, Robert Longstreet, Gary Anthony Williams, Lee Eddy, Derek Mears, Jason Manuel Olazabal, Matt Orduna, Michelle Moreno

Storyline

Fed up with the human indecency she sees around her and set off by her home being burglarized, Ruth (Melanie Lynskey) teams up with her martial arts-crazed neighbour (Elijah Wood) to exact vengeance. However, the duo soon finds themselves deep into a world they know little about.

Opinion

Although Netflix has been misfiring a lot lately, I still decided to give "I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore" because of the involvement of Elijah Wood, who I love, and Melanie Lynskey of whom I've seen very little, and I was pleasantly surprised with this quirky and rather suspenseful dark comedy.

The story is pretty banal and very absurd to say the least, but it's the absurdity that makes it so engaging because you never know what to expect from it. It does take a while to get going but once it starts flowing, it doesn't stop until the end.

I've already mentioned how absurd the plot is, yet director Macon Blair is able to deliver it with such a realism - one could easily think it was based on a true story - and, despite the transition from quirky comedy to tense thriller, he manages to make it feel very natural.

The characters are also very interesting, eccentric yet realistic people to which it's easy to relate, especially Ruth, a very well developed character whose life is just like most of ours - or at least mine -, full of small disappointment and wondering what the hell is going on with the world, because just in case you didn't notice, assholes are everywhere.

And the leading duo does a very good job. Melanie Lynskey plays Ruth brilliantly, bringing to the character the right amount of humour and drama, and Elijah Wood gives an equally brilliant and (surprisingly) humorous performance as her neighbour.