• Home
  • Meetings
  • Events
  • Blog
  • E-Board
  • Around Boston
  • Join
Northeastern University's Film Enthusiasts Club
.

Arzu Martinez on Posthumous

5/6/2015

0 Comments

 
This article is part of NUFEC's ongoing coverage of the Independent Film Festival Boston 2015.

Being the story of how an artist’s presumed death launches his work from obscurity to belated celebrity, I thought that Posthumous offered an interesting premise and some solid ground to explore important questions about success in the art world. However, it turned out to be slightly disappointing.  
Picture
The film begins at a Berlin gallery opening, where we can see a typical scene of an eccentric crowd, as they mingle and admire minimalist digital art. We meet the protagonist, Liam (John Huston) as he passes by the gallery and looks inside. As we soon learn, he is also represented by the gallery, but seeing the “success” of the new exhibit enrages him, and he sneaks into the basement to destroy his own work. Although his dealer dismisses his behavior as an act, saying that the starving artist style doesn't suit him, we are clearly supposed to believe he is truly a conflicted genius. As a neo expressionist, he is also disgusted by the clinical art that others value over his own, and throughout the movie, he is constantly rambling about real art, feeling, emotion, and not selling out to the crowd. At first it looks like this would make for an interesting character, but Huston’s poor acting and his contradicting dialogue soon become annoying.

Equally disappointing is when the movie veers into the lackluster mold of a typical romantic comedy. Liam, pretending to be his own brother, starts to fall in love with a reporter (Brit Marling) making a story about his deceased self—although she immediately realizes the truth and decides not to let him know. In their conversations, there are brief mentions of questions that could have made the story deliver, like the definition of art and its value, the difference between a real artist and a sell-out, or whether an artist should strive for greatness or happiness. However, any time it feels like something meaningful or at least thoughtful is about to be explored, we are given a pop philosophy line or the conversation just ends in an attempt of a romantic moment.

The screening was followed by a Q&A with writer and director Lulu Wang, but she only made matters (slightly) worse. For a story that should rely somewhat heavily on art theory, there are three admissions which severely affect the movie, even in hindsight. First: Liam’s “figurative” art, which is supposed to represent pure, abstracted artistic creation, was in fact made by the production design team at the last minute—and it shows. Second: The only real example of what Liam considers to be true art is by an anonymous street artist dubbed Linda’s Ex, who made illustrations asking for a girl named Linda to “take him back” and thus sparked a large public reaction. In real life, the “art”, to Wang’s disappointment, turned out to be a hoax by a graphic designer, which kind of defeats the whole point. And lastly, she claims to have written the story with the purpose of not making another conventional romantic comedy, in which regard it fails miserably.

All in all, Posthumous is a respectable directorial debut, with decent performances, especially by Brit Marling—and with the exception of Huston. I imagine that it could be enjoyable, if you know what to expect: another unremarkable rom-com with a superficial, almost-interesting story.

Grade: C
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    All
    AJ Martin
    Andy Robinson
    Anime
    Anthony Formicola
    Anu Gulati
    Arjun Agarwal
    Arzu Martinez
    Ben Garbow
    Brandon Isaacson
    Brian Hamilton
    Carter Sigl
    Dan Simeone
    Discussion
    Elizabeth Johnson Wilson
    Eliza Rosenberry
    Emily Fisler
    Erick Sanchez
    Eric Tatar
    Essays
    Festivals
    Gabrielle Ulubay
    Haley Emerson
    Here's Some Movies
    Ian Wolff
    IFF Boston
    IFFBoston 2015
    Interviews
    Isaac Feldberg
    Kunal Asarsa
    Library
    Lists
    Marguerite Darcy
    Marissa Marchese
    Mary Tobin
    Meghan Murphy
    Mike Muse
    Mitch Macro
    Neel Shah
    Netflix Instant Watch
    Parth Parekh
    Patrick Roos
    Profiles
    Reviews
    Short Films
    Television
    This Week In Movies
    Tyler Rosini

    Want to Write for Us?

    Contact NUFEC President Ian Wolff at nufecblog@gmail.com if you're interested in writing for this blog!

    Archives

    April 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    October 2019
    September 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.