Let the fans of Daniel and Erica know both oval rings are in fact two very close-up portrayals of grief and death that filmmakers have made ever since the invention of the medium. Daniela Forever is the latest movie of a Romanian lunatic, Nacho Vigalondo, however, it should be observed that it breathtakingly married the strangest notion of grief into a love that was lost and now Quiaron asks Viga to use it for a breakup, not to wet the mattress! In a rushed development, however, Remembering Vigalondo must address some concubine complications during Constructing Memory the suspension movie that goes beyond the definition of purely movie reality!
Nick, played by Henry Golding, mourns too deeply after his artist girlfriend passes away. So he aimlessly wanders in Madrid’s streets till he bumps into a friend. The friend recommends lucid dreaming to help Nick cope with the self-destructive ideations that have clouded his head. In Nick’s scenario, he imagines a woman with the features of his dead wife, Daniela. Nick begins consuming drugs to stay with this vision, which he has created in his mind as his reality.
Through persistence, Nick acquires the skill to control his dreaming environment, however, this leads to a troubling real world. Daniela becomes more self-sufficient and keeps chatting and constantly hangs out with her former partner Teresa which makes Nick uneasy as he himself is trying to date Teresa in real life. Will Nick ever have the courage to overcome his loss once and for all? And will he ever be able to cope with the gnawing fear of losing a beloved one perfectly fine again?
Lucid dreaming is a complex concept and a fascinating one at that and Vigalondo does not shy away from using techniques like freeze frames, ramped-up speeds, sound shifting, and several other tropes while setting foot into the dream world. The simplest yet the most aesthetic choice that he makes is that the ‘real-life’ aspect of the film is shot on Betamax making you see light reminiscent of fog as does Nick’s present reality, whereas, the dreams which are the most inviting shot in widescreen are heavily saturated with strong warm hues. Though the idea behind the mantra may lack creativity, it evidently enhances the look of the movie and additionally, the contrast that does exist between the two worlds gives us more insight into Nick’s perspective.
Nonetheless, this is the part where Vigalondo, the film writer, struggles with bringing over the idea of his conception. Having rapidly established the conflict of the clinical trial and Nick’s position against it, we are going to be inside for most of the footage. That is until the exposition gets out of control and the two worlds combine into a single universe. The reasoning for it is supposedly sound however their presentation of the story is lost because there is little to no building up of any realistic settings before the epic convoluted ending. As if all this is not enough, everything begins to come into frame in such a way that does not so much as complement what has existed before. At this point, the entire movie has completely reduced itself into an ouroboros sick and repetitive, and with not even the slightest insight into what it is supposed to be about.
Golding’s performance is indubitably his finest, thus he should be given recognition for being the cornerstone of the film. He persistently makes sure that his presence is minimized during real-life scenes and only shows up for 50% of the time spent. He enhances and makes Daniela getting acquainted with him an impossible task, whilst being eager and composed all at the same time on screen which is entertaining for the audience while simultaneously helping in fostering a better bond with Granno’s excessive performance with her manic pixie role. Yet the movie would not have been as compelling if it was not for the unrelenting anger he shows as he loses his lover in the second instance. As the movie progresses and focuses more on Nick, it becomes intense which includes high stakes and a few mindless acts. The portrayal of the emotion by Golding fits perfectly with the plot and to a large extent, the panache with which the portrayal is done saves the film. In one way or the other, Golding is always able to blaze the film with his act and ensure that there is a fire burning deep within it.
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