The film tells the story of Pippa and Thomas. They decided to live together. But part of the rules, the landlord gave is not to hang things from the ceiling. This of course means, no curtains and they have huge windows.
That’s the beginning of our drama, the huge windows let them have a glimpse of all their neighbors’ lives.
Pippa becomes obsessed with the neighbors of the building across the street. To the point where her life begins to crumble and she is the last to notice it.
Even, when you can tell it has some Hitchcock inspiration, certain elements and situations reminded me of Matthew Parkhill’s “Dot the i”.
The story was unraveling in a way that those twists were going to happen (they were similar to Parkhill’s ones), the story definitely needed them. But in the end, guess the intention was to make it in a more poetic way, but I believe it shied away from its true potential.
Sadly the first act is very long (more than an hour). I understand the need of making us feel immersed in Pippa’s world.
Even when she was becoming a very obnoxious character, in such a way that I ended up empathizing more with her poor boyfriend.
It could use some trimming.
Not really necessary all that time to build up a really strong second and third act.
But these kinds of twists are always joyful, especially if you unveil them in such a delicate way; they were perfectly executed.
The cinematography is beautiful, with all the vibrant colors and how the color palette changes, following the lead of our protagonist, setting the tone and mood in every scene.
Some gorgeous shots in very open spaces (you can appreciate more of this in the “photos”). That at the same time were able to give us a sense of intimacy.
My only objection in this category is the extreme close-ups.
I don’t need to constantly see Pippa licking her lips because of the neighbor, or her fingers…
Sydney Sweeney made sure we knew how Pippa was feeling through her performance. Those close-ups were distracting and worked as fillers. Like the same Hopper made in Les Miserables, so we could tell all actors were singing.
There’s no need when they are delivering strong performances.
Overall, is a strong social commentary about the amount of personal information we are putting out there, feeding fantasies… personal ones, and for strangers.
Sometimes we don’t even notice this, other times we create a different reality to give ourselves a pat on the back.
Because we have a more righteous sense when it comes to criticize or have an opinion about other people’s lives rather than our own.
The Voyeurs is available on prime.
