Review – Autumn (2022 Bluray) Cinemax
Are you acrophobic? Do you love fear, but also like to be touched by your feelings? If yes, this is just the movie for you. Autumn is 107 minutes of fear and thrills with a touch of love.
Director/writer Scott Mann and co-writer Johnathan Frank (“Heist,” “The Tournament”) have created a visually stunning film that will keep your heart racing from start to finish. The story of loss, grief and revival really captivated me and the suspense kept me hooked. This film has it all, including unexpected twists. I mean, I saw a few of them coming, but maybe you didn’t.
The cinematography (MacGregor) is absolutely amazing. MacGregor’s film work makes you feel like you’re hanging on a mountainside or 2,000 feet in the air, stuck on a tiny platform in the sky. The entire film is very compelling and I blame this guy (MacGregor). MacGregor doesn’t seem to have a long list of films associated with his name, but I’ll definitely be checking out the couple he has and anything he does in the future.
Our film opens with some of MacGregor’s wonderful cinematography. We meet our heroine Becky Connor (Grace Caroline Currey), our best friend Shiloh Hunter (Virginia Gardner) and Dan Connor (Mason Gooding) free climbing on a mountainside. Tragedy strikes and Dan is killed when an anchor comes loose. The story begins one year after one of the most traumatic and tragic events that can happen to a person: the loss of a loved one. Becky has succumbed to her grief and spends her nights drinking. She has rejected everyone, including her father James (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). Enter best friend Shiloh, who is now a social media sensation. She has come to try to bring Becky back to the land of the living. How do you ask? By climbing a 2,000-foot television antenna to the top. Becky reluctantly agrees to get back on the horse and attempt the climb. Want to know the rest? Check out the movie! These are not cliff notes.
The performances from Currey, Gardner and Morgan are wonderfully real and full of raw emotion. Currey and Morgan’s scenes together were both heartbreaking and heartwarming. I could truly feel the love and concern of a father for his grieving daughter. Currey and Gardner truly felt like best friends. The fear was all too real, but that could have been because of my extreme fear of heights.
Ok, ok, you want me to say something bad about it, fine. There was one thing that stood out. Becky climbs all the way up and to the top of the TV tower to take out a light bulb and use the socket to charge the dead battery of a drone they had brought with them. This was hinted at earlier in the film when Becky’s cell phone is being charged in a restaurant. My problem isn’t charging the drone or the phone, I have no idea if that’s possible, but if you remove a light bulb from the top of a TV tower no one will notice. I hope you’re all happy now, I was critical.
In short, this film grabbed my heart until the very last scene, squeezed and never let go. The film is a great watch and fun. Enjoy!
