18½ – Film Review

Dan Mirvish‘s 18½ is a chaotic ride to say the least. It is a long-and-winding story that takes us to many different locations, introduces us to many different faces, and also feels like it’s trying to be multiple movies wrapped into one. This, obviously, is not something I can recommend in regards to this film, and I borderline say that this movie isn’t worth checking out because it can be extremely boring at times and it can occasionally feel too long despite only running at ninety minutes.

However, there are certain moments scattered throughout where the film truly shines bright. You’ll want to watch for these little nuggets of greatness that will leave you feeling deeply enthralled. The major problem with this movie is that the script takes its sweet old time in order to get going and to get truly interesting. I’m all for a slow-burn story. I love movies that take their time in order to get to the real meat and potatoes, but even those films have some things to keep you entertained along the way. Sadly, 18½ doesn’t have those moments along the way.

This film’s screenwriter, Daniel Moya, has only written one feature before this – a horror-thriller called Killer Kate, which has less than favorable reviews online. Obviously, Moya is new to the industry so he’s most likely trying to find his voice and while his script here isn’t awful, it definitely does feel like a first draft and not a finished product. Sometimes, certain scenes feel oddly disjointed and some lines of dialogue are cringeworthy.

But what really keeps this movie afloat are the lead performances from Willa Fitzgerald and John Magaro, who work absolute magic off one another. Their chemistry together is electric and they truly made sure that they brought their A-game for this movie. It was also quite incredible to hear the legendary Bruce Campbell serve as the voice of Richard Nixon, and it was equally exciting to hear Ted Raimi as the voice of General Al Haig.

The cinematography here by Elle Schneider is quite striking as well, as is the musical score from Luis Guerra. All of these technical elements are legitimately brilliant, coming together to form one remarkably fine-looking picture. 18½ is, still, a frustrating picture though. There are some genuinely tediously boring scenes that drag the movie down tremendously, but there are also so many great scenes (especially in the third act) that really revive this movie from the dead.

At the end of the day, I’d say to give this movie a watch. Even if you’re not into history or politics, you’ll probably find at least a couple of things you enjoy about the film. And, even if you don’t, life goes on and I eagerly look forward to seeing what Dan Mirvish and screenwriter Daniel Moya tackle next.