Recent viewing: On the Count of Three

[rocky41_7]

Two-for-one-Wednesday at the video rental store! So last night I watched On the Count of Three (2021) by director Jerrod Carmichael, about two best friends who make a pact to do a double suicide at the end of the day.

Obviously the plot alone means this will be an immediate no for some people, and the film is very dark, but it is also surprisingly funny, and very heartfelt. The film is quite frank about mental health and even when it’s cracking jokes, there’s usually a point in there, even if only about the absurdity of trying to continue your normal day-to-day life while in the midst of a mental health crisis.

The relationship between the two main characters is deeply touching and the acting really landed. These two men have been best friends since childhood and know each other accordingly, which makes it both gut-wrenching and incredibly touching that when they both feel there’s no future for them, they trust the other person to be with them in their chosen last moments.

The film isn’t long, about 85 minutes, but it hits hard and I can honestly say it’s one of my favorite new movies I’ve seen recently. I definitely plan to watch this one again.

Comments

[fenfaerie]

I'm glad it was so good and that it resonated with you!

❤️

[rocky41_7]

❤

[pauraque]

Thanks for the review! Do you really live somewhere that still has a brick and mortar video store?

[rocky41_7]

I do! But I live in the Pacific Northwest, so possibly less surprising? The store is now run as a nonprofit and it has a truly vast selection--over 150,000 items in-store.

[pauraque]

Cool! There still was one when I moved here in 2009 and it persisted into the 2010s but eventually went under, and I haven't seen one since.

[rocky41_7]

Yeah, this one only survived because it went to nonprofit status and because it had become such a community icon that people are willing to go out of their way to patronize it (me). It's too bad, because it is really fun to walk through the aisles and just pick things up at random and have that real life experience, as opposed to just browsing a digital catalogue. Plus they have fun displays--I picked up a movie from a display called "Fuck the system" and all movies on that shelf related to the theme XD