A movie that shows us that the Reddit neckbeard stereotype wasn’t some invention of the 21st century. There have been a lot of movies about toxic masculinity, but the main character played here by the excellent David Thewlis definitely feels like something we haven’t quite seen before. He’s one of the most interesting narcissists ever put to film, I’d describe him as a stupid person’s idea of an intellectual who clearly gets off by having a sense of power or dominance over other people, whether that’d be sexual or intellectual. The tone and use of black comedy reminded me of the works of Todd Solondz, it’s extremely well written and subtle in places while never being afraid to let the audience laugh at some really cruel, bleak stuff. Mike Leigh also has a really good eye for blocking and composition, for example I love the scene where David Thewlis tries to impress a girl while pretending to be unbothered by constantly walking to another room. On top of that, the dark noir-ish atmosphere and mysterious score during the scenes that take place outside are also very well executed. It’s just really strong filmmaking from beginning to end.

9/10