Review by Benjamin Poole
Directed by: Reed Morano
Starring: Elle Fanning, Peter Dinklage, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Paul Giamatti
As I’ve written before, when it comes to the apocalypse (and it will come, you bet), everyone thinks that they have a plan. Raid Asda for non-perishables, hole up somewhere safe and keep yourself to yourself until the worst of it blows over. Catch up with some reading. Check in on family members. Set up a sustainable eco-system. Some of us may even have gone as far as strategising a location that allows visibility of incoming threat and worked out an ersatz defence system (for example, I live closely to the second biggest castle in Europe, so I’ve always figured I would be ok).
In Reed Morano (director) and Mike Makowsky’s (writer) I Think We’re Alone Now, Peter Dinklage’s (Del) way of doing things post-apocalypse is to enact his life as it was; tending to the library where he worked before shit went down, having a nice read in the evening and gone fishing over the weekend. It’s life as he wanted to live it, without the inconvenience of the nobs who used to rip the piss out of him for his size. No wonder he’s discombobulated when sparky, damaged Grace (Elle Fanning) rocks up in a crashed car…
In Reed Morano (director) and Mike Makowsky’s (writer) I Think We’re Alone Now, Peter Dinklage’s (Del) way of doing things post-apocalypse is to enact his life as it was; tending to the library where he worked before shit went down, having a nice read in the evening and gone fishing over the weekend. It’s life as he wanted to live it, without the inconvenience of the nobs who used to rip the piss out of him for his size. No wonder he’s discombobulated when sparky, damaged Grace (Elle Fanning) rocks up in a crashed car…
What initially follows is an odd-couple indie drama, wherein the primarily begrudged Del eventually allows Grace to be a part of his life, a routine which involves not only the halcyon pursuits detailed above but also tidying up the surrounding environs by disposing of the bodies which remain in the houses of the small town (aka, the part of Armageddon which most people find difficult to plan for). The reason for this particular apocalypse is unspecified, but it involves a disease which means that most people died at home, therefore Del and Grace have their work cut out for them. And, so it goes that Grace encourages Del to let go of the past by facing up to the one place he can’t confront: the house which holds the remains of his family. There’s also some awkward comedy in the upfront manner in which Grace tries to seduce Del - she don’t mind! A 30-year age gap abides between them though, and Del just doesn’t seem all that interested, which propels Grace to even more desperate attempts…
Without wishing to head into spoiler territory, it transpires that there is a reason for Grace’s increasing desire to win Del’s absolute affection, a twist motive which reveals her heart-breaking vulnerability. Let’s just say that the two are not quite as alone as Del first thought that they were. And, good thing too, as the thing about the apocalypse is that it’s quite dull without threat and conflict. Perhaps this is why zombies are so often chucked in to the mix.
For the first act of I Think We’re Alone Now, the film just about gets by on the manifest charm of its leads: Dinklage is as watchable, appealing and sexy as ever, and the same can be said for Fanning, whose bruised and winsome performance really sells the denial and despair of the end of the world. Grace needs to hook up with my girls from Night of the Comet (aka the best film ever made), a flick where the characters really know how to make the most of the end of days. Instead, within the longueurs that constitute most of its running time, I Think We’re Alone Now really takes the fun out of the apocalypse.
I Think We're Alone Now is on VOD November 19th.
