Liz’s Review: ‘Wetlands’… Gross and Glorious!

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I knew going into this film that the trailer alone was NSFW. I was in for a complete surprise when Wetlands as a whole blew the trailer way out of the water. Never have I ever experienced a movie so utterly disgusting and amazing at all once.

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Carla Juri plays 18 year old Helen, a young girl with no shame and no filter. She is dirty in every sense of the word. She cares little about hygiene, is sexually promiscuous, and plays games with others’ emotions. Experimenting with drugs, pushing social boundaries, and constantly pecking at her mother are hobbies she enjoys. But, as we slowly discover, there are good reasons for this behavior. There is a dark secret that lurks behind the mischief. During a quick and rough shaving accident, Helen lands herself in the hospital. She views this as the perfect opportunity to get her divorced parents back together.

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Juri is a phenom. Every syllable uttered in this film is perfection. She does it all. Comedy, drama, vulgarity, you name it. How she can be elegant doing the incredibly foul things she does, is a wonderful mystery to me. I look forward to seeing her foryears to come. Meret Becker plays Helen’s mother, the root of most of Helen’s behavior. She is strangely vindictive and dismissive. It explains so much to watch the two on screen together. Brilliant performance.

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The film is based on the novel  “Wetlands” by Charlotte Roche. Under the direction of David Wnendt, this film is like a roller coaster ride. Visually engrossing. Think Trainspotting meets Amélie. Flashbacks, loud noises, and freeze frame text, make for a quirky and crazy film. Not to mention, the soundtrack is out of this world.

Wetlands is now playing.

 

 

About Liz Whittemore

Liz grew up in northern Connecticut and was memorizing movie dialogue from Shirley Temple to A Nightmare on Elm Street at a very early age. She will watch just about any film all the way through (no matter how bad) just to prove a point. A loyal New Englander, a lover of Hollywood, and true inhabitant of The Big Apple.

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