[Review] Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (7/10)

So with the name of Ang Lee behind this movie, I had hoped for another Oscar-worthy Life Of Pi. After all, Life Of Pi was four years ago.

But, after 30 minutes in, I found myself waiting for that Ang Lee magic to kick in and it never really did. Was it my own expectations or was this movie a huge step-down?

What I loved about Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk was how Lee told the story. It was without a doubt a slow-burn but with Lee's cutting back and forth between two timelines, and building up each character; that made the story that much more interesting and watchable.

Part of the message of the movie was about how these soldiers were treated by the American public. Sometimes the plot went overboard and exaggerated certain scenes that didn't feel realistic (and this movie wasn't based on a real story either). The stage crew's constant attacking the soldiers were one good example.

There were actors in here that surprised me, like Chris Tucker and Steve Martin; and in these characters that aren't their typical, go-to roles, they were able to bring a different layer to their performances.

And then there were those that stood out like Kristen Stewart and Garrett Hedlund. Under the direction of Lee with his many use of close-up shots for dialogue, it must have been a challenge for the actors to act in this way, especially newcomer Joe Alwyn carrying the movie in his first feature film.

What I didn't like so much was a scene with Makenzie Leigh where Lee's camera angle changed to note the change in mood and dialogue. It felt jarring because the change was so sudden and obvious, and I have to question Lee's decision here.

Also, for the slow-paced storytelling, I was hoping for a bigger pay-off at the end. But it didn't make enough of a splash in the end.

Still, this whole movie definitely was cinematic, as expected from someone like Lee. And the way the closeups carried the scene made the audience felt like they were there with the characters because the characters were talking to us, almost.

And what the movie wanted to achieve, which I'm sure is what the same as the novel in which Billy Lynn's character was based off of a real soldier, I thought it was present and clear throughout.