Come to Daddy Review

 
R: Strong violence, language throughout, sexual content and graphic nudityRuntime: 1 Hr and 33 MinutesProduction Companies: Firefly Films, Blinder Films, Nowhere, Scythia FilmsDistributor: Saban FilmsDirector: Ant Timpson Writer: Toby HarvardCast: Elijah Wood, Stephen McHattie, Martin Donovan, Michael Smiley, Madeleine Sami, Simon ChinRelease Date: February 7, 2020 Norval Greenwood, a privileged man-child arrives at the beautiful and remote coastal cabin of his estranged father. He quickly discovers that not only is dad a jerk, but he also has a shady past that is rushing to catch up with both of them. Now, hundreds of miles from his cushy comfort zone, Norval must battle with demons both real and perceived in order to reconnect with a father he barely knows.
Elijah Wood loves getting into weird shit in his career and I’ve always been here for it since I watched Wilfred as a teenager. 99.9% of the world’s introduction to Elijah Wood was Lord of the Rings. For me, it was Wilfred and he’s never ceased to amaze me with his performances and Ant Timpson’s Come to Daddy is another one of those weird projects Wood thoroughly shines in.
Wood plays a neurotic young man, Norval, who visits his estranged father in New Zealand after receiving an unexpected letter from him. Soon after, tragedy occurs which throws Norval in a spiral revolving around grief. That’s all I’m going to tell you about the plot because you wouldn’t believe how insane this movie is. Come to Daddy is one of those movies where the less you know about the synopsis the better, for it’s full of so many clever twists and turns that are so well-executed in both surprise and story progression, resulting in this being one of the slickest dark comedies of the year.An aspect I love about the film is the cinematography by Daniel Katz. The film takes place in New Zealand, which is already a beautiful place, but the setting allows the cinematography to represent the tone of the film. When it starts, the atmosphere is bright and colorful representing Norval’s emotion of meeting his father for the first time, but as the film progresses and the story gets darker, so does the background, which is a nice detail. There are other clever elements, such as the transitions benefiting the film moving at a fun, fast pace, and the art direction where recurring motifs would occur. With this being producer Ant Timpson’s directorial debut, he delivers a fun and twisted sense of humor that is balanced by its storytelling.His performance is great, acting on point, his delivery, facial expressions, and it shows a new twisted side to him we’ve not seen (often), like Jesse Eisenberg in The Art of Self-Defense! Double bill this with Riley Stearns’ upcoming The Art of Self-Defense and you’ll have the perfect neurotic badass double feature of 2019. Besides having a dark and comedic backbone, there is a meaningful story attached that is thoroughly engaging and fun.
This movie got way too comfortable using a certain word so many times. Yes, it is a somewhat masculine film with shitty people that Norval finds himself involved with, but it could’ve done with less usages of that word. Believe me, once the film hits the midpoint, it pivots into an entirely different movie and it fucking works. The first quarter has comedic moments but dragged a bit as supporting characters are briefly introduced, then disappear. But once the second half kicks off, this becomes an ultimate blast. Hell, I might say it’s:
This is my Mandy of 2019. Both movies have a slow start, but give it enough time to appreciate the setup and you’ll have a total blast. What makes Come to Daddy special is its pivotal twist, which elevates the entertainment value 100%. From where the narrative heads towards, the humor and the surprising violence, Come to Daddy delivers the best of its genre and defines what a dark comedic thriller should be. This was the first movie in a while to give me the best belly laughs, where you think about the joke as you laugh at the joke, resulting in you laughing harder than you did before. Then, it delivers the best cinematic fatalities I’ve seen in a movie this year. It’s so badass that it would make Keanu Reeves go,
You Elijah wouldn’t believe how much of a blast Come to Daddy is. Dark, funny, and stylish throughout, Come to Daddy is an exciting rollercoaster of a dark comedic thriller.Rating: 4/5 | 81%