Tribeca Film Festival 2019: Netflix Arrives Swinging With EXTREMELY WICKED, SHOCKINGLY EVIL AND VILE And SEE YOU YESTERDAY

Netflix has been making a name for themselves over the last few years with the cinematic accomplishments they have achieved. This year, Netflix arrived at Tribeca swinging, adding Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile and See You Yesterday to their repertoire.

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile – Joe Berlinger

We all know the story of Ted Bundy, one of the most famous serial killers in the history of the United States. But do we really know him? Following the release of his highly successful Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bunny Tapes, Joe Berlinger returns to Netflix with his highly anticipated film Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. Lead by a standout cast, Extremely Wicked tops my list of favorite films thus far, the highly built-up film delivered what it promised.

While not all of the film speaks to the actual events that occurred, especially as we enter the film’s third act, the fictionalized additives give the film the heightened intensity that a courtroom drama could leech out of a film — especially when viewers already know how it ends. The film’s real success was its ability to flirt with the question regarding whether he actually did it. This gripping possibility constantly pops up throughout the courtroom scenes, police investigations, and interactions on screen, keeping you on the edge of your seat. There is this continual dramatic tension, waiting for some validation one way or another, hoping that the story you have grown up knowing isn’t that of an innocent man paying for the crimes of another.

There is also the shock factor, taking on an onlookers perspective of a potential crash. If there is the chance he was falsely accused, even with all the evidence against him (cleverly left absent as it would have been for onlookers following the case), if it was indicated he did not commit these crimes, what a train wreck that would be.

Also successful, on a marketing and informational aspect, was Netflix’s decision to release both this film and the docu-series. As Extremely Wicked was receiving praise at Sundance, Netflix was satisfying non-festival goers with information regarding his crimes and the trial that followed. Continuing to build the hype, it was also an answer to the film’s fictionalized nature regarding the events.

Where there is strength in the script and subject for Extremely Wicked, the cast took it and ran with it, bringing career performances to the table. Zac Efron is an indomitable force, his good boy persona perfectly matched with Ted Bundy’s charismatic nature, contrasted with fleeting moments of the monster within flashing in and out of his performance. Thus far, this is one of the best performances of the year. Lily Collins also brings her game; what initially seems like trapped purgatory melts into self-inflicted guilt. This is the meatiest role I have had the chance to see her in to date and she tackles it with ease.

One of the biggest complaints I have seen from critics is that the film is too romanticized. I have to disagree, in a sense, that this is a bad thing. Extremely Wicked is supposed to be from, or at least include, the point of view of Liz (Collins) who was completely enamored with Ted. He was the love of their life. She had fallen in love, literally, at first sight. This romanticized aspect adds to her attraction and inability to let go, coupling this with the obsessive nature from woman throughout the country who would fall for him as well.

My only complaint about the film is it drags a little in the middle, threatening to lose its viewers, but it recovers beautifully, diving you back in. Extremely Wicking, Shockingly Evil and Vile is a brilliantly executed film, presenting one of the most intriguing and captivating cinematic representation of this notorious serial killer.

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Vile and Evil is now available to stream!

See You Yesterday – Stefon Bristol

Time Machines: a concept that has delighted the imaginations of millions since it was first thought up. Of course, it is closely tied to regret and a desire to change the past existing since the birth of consciousness. Traveling to change the past is also an idea recycled throughout cinematic history, each story taking on their own perspective and range of possibilities — each proving that changing the past is not as easy as it seems. See You Yesterday, from director Stefon Bristol, is the latest film to join these ranks, bringing injustice to the forefront in the process while bridging the gap of inclusion and diversity in film.

What initially reads as a Disney original movie transforms into so much more — a multilayered film that has the potential to speak to a variety of ages and ethnicities. Timely and relevant, its attempt to resurrect the past and manipulate its outcomes speaks to the police brutality throughout our country of black individuals, and the lack of control these individuals have to change the outcome.

There is also a duality within the film’s attempt at diversity. Where See You Yesterday is comprised of an almost entirely black cast, giving leads to an ethnicity usually left to supporting roles, there is also the inclusion of a strong female lead. And not only is CJ (Eden Duncan-Smith) a strong black female, she is also a scientist. There is a new wave of inclusionary behaviors within our society, a push to include women in science, not only through their studies but through the toys marketed to children. No longer is this confined to “Boys toys”, bringing young girls into the mix. With See You Yesterday, CJ becomes this young girl, not only interested in science but partaking in it. She is her partner’s equal in both success and intelligence.

There is so much to the film as you begin to peel back all the layers, diversity and injustice read clear almost immediately, but there is also this idea of “acting right” that the film tries to tackle. This idea that there is a way a person is expected to act, and you are welcoming the consequences that follow if you do not adhere to this presumed way of behaving. See You Yesterday challenges this concept, that no one can tell you what is the right way to act, and how you should go about behaving and reacting to certain situations. It also encourages those who face this to rise above, to push forward, retaining their individuality, even possibly changing the outcome, changing the accepted norm.

See You Yesterday is full of callbacks to the director’s upbringing and cultural back group, bringing a personal flair to the film and a staple of individuality. References to Babylon, the Jamaican flag, and reggae music speak to his Caribbean background, as well as the neighborhood he grew up in. And this is the same for some of the film’s cast. Even the soundtrack and score retain much of this feeling, employing Caribbean drum beats throughout. Speaking of the director literally putting himself into his film, his love for the sci-fi action films of old even found their way into the film, Michael J. Fox makes a brief, yet memorable cameo within the film. Heavy.

See You Yesterday is a film not to be taken at face value. It is a film that is multi-layered and crafted to deliver each layer in a timely and thought-provoking manner. There is no confusion on why Netflix decided to welcome Stefon Bristol into the fold.

See You Yesterday Will be available to stream on Friday, May 17, 2019!