Too Old to Die Young

Is the director’s personal statement that men deserve to die young? Or is it a metaphor for the neverending clash between good and evil? A journey full of killing, long shots and bizarre interludes with dancing Mexicans and a growling dad (by means of a plush-toy tiger) will either captivate you or you’ll bin it before it has a chance to get going. The most ordinary, middle passage could work as a movie in itself. In places, Too Old to Die Young reminds one of an early Kitano movie, just with Mexicans instead of Japanese. + Khondji’s fantastic camerawork and the polished visuals, where each shot looks like a photo prepped to be posted on Instagram. As for the story, Brubaker and Refn mix the realistic depiction of violence with mysticism similar to the comic book Fatale. Some scenes are really funny and original (cartel TV and 25,000 likes), but some make you feel almost physically ill. Martinez’s music is spot on for the neon tone and often as equally bizarre as the weirdness taking place on the screen. Teller is really good despite merely follows the creators' commands like everyone else involved. It didn’t seem to end, but I don’t expect to see another season. (30.06.2019)

If you’ve read Brubaker’s Criminal, you’ll feel at home with this. The mosaic of disreputable characters in unenviable situations unfolds slowly, very slowly. Refn gives us languor in a hurried world. With any other director, the slow dialog, long pauses and easy-going car rides accompanied by Martinez’s synthesizers would end up on the cutting-room floor, so he could shock with a twist pulled out of nowhere. Here, the power lies in the calmness and static images. Teller in the role of Martin is intriguingly distracted and unapproachable, but in spite of that, it is easy to identify with him in some sequences. The beginning of a thirteen-hour film. (18.06.2019)

Perverts from Albuquerque, but the best episode so far. Winding Refn approached Marty’s trip to New Mexico fairly dynamically. The long, slow dialogs have a function and it ends with an abrupt catharsis in the warehouse. The car chase is a feast for the eyes. (23.06.2019)