Review: Holy Motors

Upon seeing the trailer of Holy Motors, I was already interested in seeing it because it creeped me out, the acting looks good and the story looks puzzling. So was the trailer as good as the movie? Check it out below.

Synopsis:
From dawn to dusk, a few hours in the life of Monsieur Oscar, a shadowy character who journeys from one life to the next. He is, in turn, captain of industry, assassin, beggar, monster, family man... He seems to be playing roles, plunging headlong into each part - but where are the cameras? Monsieur Oscar is alone, accompanied only by Céline, the slender blonde woman behind the wheel of the vast engine that transports him through and around Paris. He's like a conscientious assassin moving from hit to hit. In pursuit of the beautiful gesture, the mysterious driving force, the women and the ghosts of past lives. But where is his true home, his family, his rest? -- (C) Official Site


Story:
The story revolves around a man who plays a lot of characters in one day. It’s basically cinema on real life. The story was mind boggling as a lot was happening in each character the man was portraying, some of them were told well but some of them felt short. The real twist here is what character he really lives in. But as a whole, the story is in fact great with a LOT of what the f*** moments. I admit at first I had a hard time on following the story but as the movie goes on, you can catch up with it.

Acting:
Two words: Denis Lavant, this guy was just f*cking beast in this movie. He played each roles of his character with utter perfection. Every character that he portrays was electrifying and you can’t stray your eyes away from him. You can feel his love and care when he was playing the father; you can be terrified of him when he was playing the “monster”. He just owned each role and I am honestly rooting and hoping for him to be at least nominated in the upcoming Academy Awards. Please consider this guy.

Violence:
It was not the balls-to-the-walls violent but it did show some blood and guts, I think it was appropriate as it helped show a shocking factor at the movie.

Music:
The music in this movie is good although it was only present at some scenes but I loved the music in this movie. Whenever it was present, you can feel the eeriness of Denis Lavant’s character. Another thing, the reason why I liked the music is how operatic it was and it was pure eargasm.

Cinematography:
It was average but some shots really brought out the spirit of the movie. It helped emphasize some scenes and it was able to show how beautiful the movie is. At some time the cinematography felt like surrealistic and brought out a level of weirdness to the "monster” character of Lavant.

Direction:
This is the first film of Leos Carax that I’ve watched, and I must say I’m pretty impressed. From start to finish I was hooked, although at times I had some issues with the pacing, I loved the way he brought out the intensity of the film and of course the intensity of Lavant’s  character.

Overall:
Holy Motors is a film that feels realistic and surrealistic at the same time. This is the type of movie that brings out a lot of emotions. Denis Lavant’s performance was just superb and captivating, you will never be able to get your eyes away from him. I give this movie a 3.5/5.