A Cure for Wellness

A few days ago I was lucky enough to snag an advanced viewing of A Cure for Wellness which is to be released in a couple weeks on February 17th. 

Normally the "offers" I get for advanced screenings are to films that I have minimal interest in seeing so I ultimately skip them. 

A Cure for Wellness on the other hand has held my attention for a few months even if it's not on the top of my must-see 2017 list. It's an original story and directed by Gore Verbinski who, most of the time, does a decent job at entertaining his audience. Sometimes the overall film doesn't quite come together for him, but you're likely to remember a couple fun things from it. 

Wellness' first trailers are creepy and filled with mystery without giving too much away. From the trailers alone, the film looked gorgeous and I was intrigued by the setting, cast, and overall original plot. Part of me thought there was a chance this would be the unexpected hit of 2017. 

Unfortunately, the film has some significant issues and is more than a little disgusting, some of which I found rather unnecessary and hard to accept. It does a lot of things well from a technical standpoint but the story becomes a mess and by the time it's all said and done you kind of feel like you need a shower. 

Pretty odd considering water plays a major part in the film's plot...

A Cure for Wellness synopsis is best described one where a young professional goes to retrieve a C-level executive from his prolonged spa vacation in the Swiss Alps. He's been staying at a wellness center that is more than a little odd and eventually the young professional finds himself unraveling the mysteries of the place. The setting and feel of the film is effectively creepy and exciting. The early mysteries will intrigue you and have you trying to solve the puzzle yourself, half expecting that the "cure" will be some mind-blowing view of today's current work-obsessed nature. Given Verbinski's prolonged attachment to the now-defunct Bioshock film, I was waiting for this to be a super-secret lead in to that world (it would have been a far better movie for what it's worth), but alas, it is not. 

"Why do they have to all be old men?"

The film's plot very quickly meanders and becomes convoluted. Its intentions slowly decrease in effectiveness and by the time the final scenes came I kind of didn't care anymore. That's a huge shame for a film that I was heavily invested in from the very first scenes. It builds its mystery well but then botches the entire landing because things are A) either not as interesting as you once thought B) not explained at all or C) so fantastical that it doesn't seem to gel. There is no huge "jaw-drop" of a moment that you'll be waiting for -- instead, the film trades one big reveal scene for a bunch of smaller, much more ineffective ones. Once it was over it was very apparent to my audience and I that the film thought it was far smarter than it actually was and it had been stringing us along nearly the entirety of its way-too-long 2.5 hour runtime. 

Jason Isaacs: probably one of the most underused,
talented actors out there right now

Along with the meandering plot comes some very uncomfortable moments within the film. It WILL make you squirm, in one way or another. Obviously, nothing will be spoiled here, but some of these scenes I didn't have a problem with. These were the ones that I feel like the film earned and ones that, as hard as they were to watch, weren't completely unnecessary. A couple others though are completely out of left field or squirmy in the most disgusting of ways and I'm not sure they needed to go there. Without spoiling any of this, I understand this builds to the mystery, but it is both a hindrance and strength to the film, oddly enough. Just depends on what scene is being talked about.

All this criticism behind me now, I'm not necessarily telling you not to see the film. I did enjoy myself very much for the first half of the movie and there's enough worth here that I think the people interested already will enjoy it more than I. For starters, the performances are stellar. Dane DeHaan, looking a lot like a young DiCaprio, is suitable here as the young executive and plays into the film's horror elements well. At first I thought he was pretty miscast and too young for the role, but he grew on me and he leads the film well. Jason Isaacs gives an eerie and highly effective performance as the head of the wellness center. Any negatives of his character/role are more attributed to the plot but he is memorable and will likely be one of the top villain performances of the year.

A Cure for Wellness is also a very technologically proficient film. Even with the plot woes, the film consistently looks gorgeous and there are some really cool, memorable shots (i.e. the one below). Outside of the awe-inspiring Swiss Alps environment, this cinematography skill follows our characters inside too and delivers from start to finish. The original score is also splendid, although not as consistent as the cinematography. The main theme is haunting and there are moments where the film sings; a visual and audio combination of gorgeous frames and eerie singing. The film owes a lot of the tone it's able to pull off to these two things and the acting that accompanies them. When all three of these are in sync and the mysteries are still being laid out, A Cure for Wellness is absolutely fantastic. Hence why I enjoyed the first half of the film so immensely. 

Some absolutely stunning cinematography. Looks great on a BIG screen.

So you can see now why I'm likely torn on my rating for this film. Even letting my thoughts gestate for a few days I still have conflicting thoughts on it. I really enjoyed parts of it, hell...half of it. but the plot falls apart and it all ends up not being nearly as smart or interesting as you hope for during it's openings. That plus the fact that it gets, for lack of a better term, pretty icky, makes it hard for me to outright praise it without a few asterisks. 

CONS

• "Solves" its mysteries one by one and the ultimate conclusion comes across with a whimper and isn't all that grand or mind-blowing
• Meanders from about the halfway point all the way to the end. It's way too long of a film and could legitimately have been probably an entire 30-40 minutes shorter 
• A few really slimy, gross moments -- and not in a good way
• Not nearly as smart as it thinks it is

PROS

• Strong performances from everyone, especially DeHaan and Isaacs. The latter will probably be one of the best villains of the year
• Starts off super strong and, at least while the mysteries are being piled on, it's highly captivating. The first half of this film is tremendous
• The imagery and cinematography is consistently the film's "ace in the hole". It's the single best thing about it
• Creepy and effective original score
• Captures the tone it wants perfectly. Even when things are falling apart it's still creepy, mysterious, and unnerving. Oh and there are a few slimy gross moments that are well-earned and slimy/gross for the right reasons

Rath's Review Score | 6.5/10