I've been a member of IMDb for over 8 years. Before now, I've only ever written a review for one movie and that was Sophie Coppola's 'Somewhere' travesty. Today I will write my second review: This movie is absolute garbage.
Two people living in a hole out in the woods is how it begins. It takes over 45mins before we even know why the hell they're there. Are they trapped out in the woods? What country are they even in? Then one of the two hole people visits the local shops hiding his face the entire time. Are these people criminals? What the hell is going on? It's a very long drawn out story and if you think the ending will be worth the payoff you're wrong. In the end the dead son turns in to a Pig and apparently saves one of the two lunatics hiding in the woods.
Avoid this like it was the plague.
Couple in a Hole
2015
Action / Drama / Thriller
Couple in a Hole
2015
Action / Drama / Thriller
Plot summary
A middle-aged couple from Scotland finds refuge in a man-made cave deep in the wilderness of the lush and undisturbed French woodlands. As a result, renouncing every ounce of her human nature and deeply traumatised after the loss of her only son, the mother encloses herself in this dark and dank cavity in the hope of escaping the frightful hole of depression. However, matters will rapidly deteriorate, as she becomes more and more unwilling, or, better yet, unable just to be on her feet, reducing herself to a human-like feral animal. But, in the end, defeated and utterly hopeless, the anguished father will make his last stand, as he tries to salvage the remains of their shattered life; nevertheless, is there any hope left?
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Tech specs
720p.WEB 1080p.WEBMovie Reviews
Horrible
Surprisingly Enjoyable
There are marketing companies who would charge you the price of a Jordan Belfort house party to come up with the best name for a movie. 'You need something smart' they would WhatsApp you from the break out canoe in their Shoreditch offices, 'Relevant', 'Sophisticated', 'Serene', 'Something virtual for the Millennials'. But you know what? If you've got a film about a couple living in a hole, save the budget and the BS and just call the bloody thing what it is.
Couple in a Hole, as you may have partially gathered by now, is about a couple living in a hole in the woods somewhere in rural France. The two are introduced during daily activities; John (Higgins),the hunter gatherer of the pair catching and skinning a hapless bunny for the pot, and Karen (Dickie),sitting in the hole stitching together furs into a rather fetching but doubtfully PETA approved patchwork blanket.
On a rare excursion from the hole, Karen gets bitten by a spider and becomes ill, forcing John to travel into town for medication. Here he meets Andre (Kircher),the gentle local chemist who asks how they are getting on in the wood. It is at this point, with John telling Andre he has plenty of money and doesn't need charity, that you realise the couples living accommodations are of their choosing. The key question then simply becomes 'why?'. Why are they living in a hole? Why are they so close to town? Why is Karen so utterly afraid of the world? The rest of the films sole purpose is to gradually tease these answers out.
Aside from the mysterious particulars of the living arrangements, the most engaging part about Couple in a Hole is the contradicting needs of the couple and the discord they create; Johns jovial persona longing for alternative company and Karen's obsession with locking herself away from the dread of the outside world. Dickie plays the agoraphobic Karen to perfection. Her complete regression from life and emaciated appearance are startling, the occasional panicked emergence from the hole is breath-holding material. Higgins is perfectly cast as the friendly but uncompromisingly loyal and protective John, his friendly intelligence keeping the course of the plot credible and preventing things becoming too gloomy.
Why, oh, why then Geens decided to end the film as he did only he will ever know. After being lovingly snuggled in the fur-lined blanket of Paul's progression and Karen's regression for an hour and a half, the last thing you would expect is the ending you unfortunately receive. It feels flustered, freaky and unrealistic (an impressive feat for a film about two Scottish people living in a hole in France) and undoes a lot of what has come before.
Couple in a Hole works far better than it perhaps should and productions of such limited budget and scope should always be applauded. Although flawed in places and with that terrible ending, it is for the most part a legitimately enjoyable and captivating outing.
Gripping
This film moved me. Powerful silence, actions and way of telling this story. It unfolds perfectly, like in a real life event, not some Hollywood garbage that is fed to people, creating this whole fake generation. I am not a person that knows the review speak, so ten lines is a stretch for me, I don't read reviews that are longer than about the same amount of lines, I want to watch and experience a film for myself, not read a book about how another person perceived every detail.
A basic outline is enough. This film is like a snowball, ending in the most unexpected way, yet throughout the film, there were glimmers of indication, if one is perceptive to such things of course. I really enjoyed the journey, there is a melancholic feel to this, that is the closest to a spoiler you will get from me.