Summary
Regis Blondeau’s directorial debut will leave you feeling restless.
The story of Restless revolves around a lieutenant whose life is turned upside down when he chooses to hide evidence. In the first ten minutes, we see him kill a man and hide the body in the boot of his car. Things can only go downhill from here.
The storyline is quite unbelievable, filled with odd circumstances and crazy moments. The tension can almost become comedic in the ridiculousness that the film is trying to make the audience believe. At first, it feels a bit disjointed, but then you settle in amongst the madness. There are some twists and turns in the film, which help drive the narrative but are a bit predictable.
I didn’t much care for the main character, as he is a police officer who has put himself in these situations, so I didn’t feel sorry for him or really want him to succeed. If anything, I wanted him to fail for being an awful human being. How can we be on the side of the baddie? Especially bad police, at a time where, internationally, the police are confirming the stereotype that they care about their reputations and relationships more than the truth. No, this was hard to connect with, and with a happy ending for the lead, I didn’t feel closure; I felt empty. I needed more.
Whilst the lead only has a few facial expressions, the acting was to an okay standard, with some good chemistry amongst the characters. The cinematography is dark, but the faces are well lit, which I appreciate.
There is a lot of action, and yet with this, I still found myself a bit bored watching and my attention went onto other things, such as when I should put my wash on and what I need to buy from the shops tomorrow.
Overall, as the directorial debut for Regis Blondeau, this film is a decent, easy watch. The film doesn’t offer anything new regarding the storyline — it’s all something we’ve seen before, but there is comfort in this, so if you’re looking for an okay, mindless action film, Restless is the one. However, there are far better action films out there.
Read More: Restless Ending Explained
