The Mountain

Most teens won't enjoy this dreadful dirge, and they could well be aghast you even suggested it. Ready Player One's Tye Sheridan is drained of all spark playing Andy, a hunched-over, nonverbal, feet-shuffling sad sack who takes a job with the man who lobotomized his mother in an effort to find a connection to her. Is it depression? It's impossible to tell; his behavior is the same before his father's death. And the pace is excruciatingly slow: Director Rick Alvarez doesn't just give a scene room to breathe; scenes meditate in utter stillness until they induce sleep. The film finally comes to life with the introduction of belligerent Susan (Hannah Gross), whose French healer father, Jack (Udo Kier), requests that Fiennes perform a lobotomy on his daughter.

Jack has his own mental health issues, and it's hard to tell what's his personality, what's his artistry as a healer, and what's just him being an obnoxious, out-of-control drunk. What is easy to tell is that Jack is here to represent art(!) and says so(!). He indulges in a couple of subtitled soliloquies about the nature of art, hermaphrodites, and form, sometimes speaking in poetic verse. Some may appreciate The Mountain's high-mindedness and lofty goals, but for most -- especially teens -- it's more likely to play as ridiculous. The film is trying to disrupt viewers' senses by marrying a horror story with gorgeous cinematography. Even in grittier scenes, every shot is gorgeously composed. Clearly it's designed for active thought and debate, but with so much to unpack, it may have the opposite effect: making viewers feel they've been lobotomized themselves. Don't put it past Alvarez -- that may be the point.