01/12/2018

FILM REVIEW: Assassination Nation


The other day I went to the cinema to see Assassination Nation.

I loved it. It was as if The Purge, 13 Reasons Why and Kill Bill had a crossover episode. It was bloody and exciting, and I just really like films like this.

The film introduces us to a group of 4 friends, who live for selfies and social media. As a hacker begins to spread the precious documents of the mayor and the head teacher, the girls become the next victims and find themselves being blamed and chased by an angry mob who are ready to kill.

I really really enjoyed the film. It gave a new face to the idea of revenge, as well as spreading the message that social media is taking over, and privacy is hard to come by nowadays. I also liked how it touched on high school friendships and relationships, and the pressures that exist. I think it’s the only film I’ve seen recently that gave an accurate depiction and I’m grateful for that.

The rest of the review will contain spoilers, so if you’re happy with that, please continue, and if not, I’ll see you around. If you do go and see the film, bare in mind that it is rated an 18 and shows strong violence, blood, gore, and a bunch of other things that are given to us in a trigger warning at the beginning of the film which I thought was cool. So if a long list of things like that isn’t your cup of tea, probably best to not see it.

STORY

So, you know the basic outline, but I’m going to go into a little detail on the beginning, middle and end.

We meet the girls, the 4 best friends and as this story is mainly from Lily’s view, we learn that she has a ‘Daddy’ and a boyfriend. The girls are unashamed of the pictures they post and the lives they lead, even though society isn’t happy with them doing that.

A mysterious hacker leaks the contents of the Mayor’s computer, including sexual images, and during a press conference, he shoots himself as it’s too much to cope with.

The same then happens to the head teach of the high school, but instead of sexual images, the town sees his porn history and naked photos of his young daughter. Parents will him to resign but he doesn’t, leading to violence.

The girls and the school find this all fun and games until a larger leak takes place, meaning that videos and photos sent to Lily’s Daddy (ew that’s not nice, I am all for everyone enjoying their lives, but saying that is horrible haha) are leaked, leading to her boyfriend exposing her as the town slut.

Lily is blamed for the hacks and the town forms a mob to kill her and her 3 best friends for what they have supposedly done to the town. This leads to a lot of blood and violence but some awesome girl power scenes in amazing red coats.

Lily puts out a video to say her side of the story and the girls of the town see it to rally with them to face the mob, and that’s that.

I think the story is a really interesting one, and true to what happens on social media. If something is leaked or someone states their opinion or starts a rumour, everything gets a little, well, a lot out of hand. People are quick to blame or pull the trigger without actually looking for the truth, which nearly gets Lily and her friends killed. I do not know what I’d do if something like this happened to me, but it wouldn’t be anywhere near as dramatic!

I like how the whole film went a little insane and turned to murder. It was an interesting take, but when you think about it and how the internet literally controls us, it is a possible option.

I love Tarantino films and anything like this really, so it’s so cool that this exists and as soon as I left the cinema, I just wanted to see it again.

CAST

I didn’t know any of the cast prior to the film apart from Bella Thorne who actually had a smaller role than I thought she did.

It starred Odessa Young as Lily and I thought she was an incredible actress. She really gave everything to the role and was so emotional and just perfect.

Hari Nef also stars in it and wow, I am literally obsessed with her. I really like the representation this film had, and even though we’ve still got a long way to go, I think its amazing how the film told her story. She is such a force and I cannot wait to see what she’s in next!

I think the whole cast was so well chosen. They all naturally fell into the roles and played such realistic parts.

The only character I didn’t really like was Lily’s younger brother who turned out to be the hacker in the end. I don’t know what it was, I just felt that he wasn’t as developed as the other characters and I didn’t feel connected to him or even bothered about him, but maybe that was the point!

MUSIC & SOUND

To be honest, thinking back to seeing the film, the music doesn’t come to mind. It was pretty standard music throughout and the sound was pretty good. However!!! The credits at the end were on another level! They had a school marching band playing ‘We Can’t Stop’ by Miley Cyrus and it was such a mood. After seeing the town turn to blood and murder, it was so cool to suddenly see calm and such a normal thing like a marching band.

CINEMATOGRAPHY

I thought the film was shot really well. It was handheld but still professional. There was lots of panning and shots that were typically a certain genre to show the contrast between classic teen movie and revenge horror. I often felt like we were spying on the characters, like the world was when they posted pictures. It was really interesting.

MISE-EN-SCENE

I loved the use of neon signs so much. The whole aesthetic of the girls was so pretty and girly but also what a lot of people would describe as slutty but I loved the vibe so much. It was like a grunge girl tumblr bedroom come to life and I was living for it. It was then such an opposite to the final scenes where the girls are all wearing latex red coats, ready to go murder everyone. I liked how the girls remained themselves through the film and we could see that through the colours.

ANYTHING ELSE?

I think that’s everything. I really enjoyed the film, it made me laugh, it shocked me but most importantly it really made me think about the society we are living in and how someone’s life can be so easily ruined. Fake news and rumours fly around so often that we often become oblivious to it, but I really hope that I can find out the truth for myself from now on.

So that’s my kinda review/me just spilling my thoughts on Assassination Nation. Have you seen it? Are you going to? What are your thoughts? Let me know as I’d love to hear your opinion.

Have a great day, and I’ll see you next time.

WATCH/LISTEN TO THE REVIEW HERE: https://www.instagram.com/tv/Bq1t1VTnlaW/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

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