Mini Film Review – Black Bear

Yesterday I watched Black Bear; and it was rather boring! Directed by Lawrence Michael Levine, and starring Aubrey Plaza, Christopher Abbott, Sarah Gadon, and Paola Lázaro; Black Bear is a black comedy drama about a filmmaker relying on her tumultuous past to try and overcome her creative block, even if it means waking up some inner demons. Black Bear looks like it could be an interesting idea, as it takes a more minimalist approach into creating the sort of plot outline you would expect from say a Christopher Nolan film. The sort of film that tells an unreliable narrative, but one which would become shockingly clear at the very end. Well, it doesn’t! The film has two main stories worked into it; both which look real, but given it’s hypnotic direction, you can’t tell for sure, and by the time the second one gets going, you still can’t be sure as to what is going on. The second part though is a bit clearer to the first part with some additional, and more interesting characters than the first part, which manages to tell a 90+ minute movie in just 42 minutes. It sort of feels like I am watching an inside out version of Birdman, which shows the stage show, but barely any of the behind the scenes chaos. And as for the purpose, or even reason of the Black Bear, I have absolutely no idea why it keeps getting referenced! It is a strange film, and also a bit sad, as whilst some of the cast are good (particularly in the second part), and others a bit bland; Aubrey Plaza does have this great commanding presence; and the film is so much richer when she is on screen. But even her rather strong dynamic performance can’t save what was overall, a confusing, and overly boring film!