Summary
Regis Blondeau’s directorial debut will leave you feeling restless.
This review of the Netflix film Restless (2022) does not contain spoilers.
The story 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, crazy moments, and 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 helps drive the narrative but is 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 with good lighting on the faces, which I did 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 a directorial debut, 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. Although there are far better action films out there.
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You can watch this film with a subscription to Netflix.
