Bliss

Ambiguity tends to be a risky feature to take in a variety of art house genres such as science fiction, horror, and drama. Leaving story details unknown with the intent on wanting the audience to interpret events surrounding it. It's usage carries a hit or miss success rate as being mysterious about the plot can alienate audience members if the film's as niche as I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020) in execution or used in the more clever of manners with sci-fi such as Inception (2010) with the ending. This brings us to another venture into this field, Bliss, which was written and directed by Mike Cahill. I had come across this feature while looking up the slate of entertainment on Amazon Prime that can be accessed in there. There was little marketing for it and I was curious to see if it was a hidden gem of 2020. After watching it, however, the execution of its ambitions ended up as a mixed bag that I felt indifferent about.

What's it about? The story follows a middle-aged man whose perspective on reality goes in a different direction when he meets a peculiar woman. There are some interesting ideas present here that are fascinating to observe. The mental state of the main character in how he reacts strange activities happening around him. The perceptions of what's real or not is nothing new but there are some opportunities to dissect that for those who feel daring enough for the task.

There is missed potential with the execution, however, that ends up dragging the experience down. The writing gets bogged down in terms of its attempts to explain the science exposition surrounding it all. The stakes are tricky to have some interest in as the protagonists don't feel very engaging to watch. This is more of a concept arthouse type of science fiction narrative rather than one where the characters have something to latch onto. By the conclusion of this story, it all feels rather neutral than anything positive or negative and without much of a lasting impression.

 

How are the actors? In regards to story importance, the actors to focus on are Owen Wilson and Salma Hayek. Owen and Salma are doing their best to make the most of their respective roles and they don't feel like they are phoning it in. Something that does get in the way, however, is the mixed bag of their chemistry together. That feels more like a directing issue rather than them as they are capable enough talent to have decent chemistry, it's just not here.

Overall Consensus: Bliss is an ambitious ambiguous drama with interesting ideas and decent acting but is let down by a messy weak script, lackluster character depth, and an indifferent forgettable impact. ⭑⭑3/4 Runtime: 1 hour 43 minutes R

 

Reasons to watch it: You are a fan of the aforementioned actors and/or filmmaker Mike Cahill. You like giving arthouse dramas a chance to see what they are attempting to convey. You are interested in storylines that deal with what's real and what isn't. 

 

Reasons to avoid it: You aren't a fan of the aforementioned actors and/or filmmaker Mike Cahill. You dislike arthouse dramas with messy scripts. You aren't interested in storylines that deal with what's real and what isn't. You want to have engaging protagonists that are worth investment in.