…………………………………………………

Long Day’s Journey into Night Movie Review

Long Day’s Journey into Night is a 2019 mystery drama film directed by Bi Gan and starring Tang Wei and Huang Jue. It’s a very pretentious movie.

………………………………………………….

“Dreams rise up and I wonder

if my body is made of hydrogen.

And then my memories would be made of stone“

…………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………..

It follows the return of Luo to the hometown from which he fled many years before. Back for his father’s funeral, Luo recalls the death of an old friend, Wildcat, and searches for lost love Wan who continues to haunt him. The premise itself is excellent, and the film is at its best when being a mystery having in mind that its atmospheric thrills and a mysterious, intriguing atmosphere are so potent.

But it’s not so great as a romance or a drama as the flashbacks take too much screen time, and the entire movie, especially the second half is way too slow, self-indulgent and undeniably artsy for the sake of being artistic. It is the type of arthouse movies that many people make fun of, especially in that second half.

Yes, that very long take is great, but not much happened there otherwise. I found the characterization rather weak myself, though I have to commend the acting as both did a terrific job, especially Huang Jue who is very memorable and sensual in his role.

Long Day’s Journey into Night is over two hours long, and it felt like it. For me, the movie is very dull, uneventful and it ultimately felt very thinly plotted with the plot and characters taking a backseat to all of the visuals and technicalities.

And those are admittedly terrific. As I have already said, the actors are sensual and charismatic. The score is very strong, and the film sound design is fantastic as many scenes utilize on the rain superbly to the greatest possible effect in creating this melancholic atmosphere.

…………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………..

I found the sets brilliant throughout, and the cinematography absolutely phenomenal, especially the aforementioned one take. The movie looks so amazing that it’s a shame that the material itself is so weak. The direction from Bi Gan is also very annoying, and he’s got a lot to learn in order to achieve greatness in the future.

Long Day’s Journey into Night features brilliant sets throughout, a terrific use of sound and its melancholic atmosphere, truly inspired cinematography and memorable actors. However, the terrific technicalities do not make a movie itself great. The pacing is excruciatingly slow, the plot is very thin and the movie as a whole is way too long, artsy and pretentious.

My Rating – 3