westsideschl Definitely a contrast in values. A filmed hyperbole of a lone gay high school student (Bloom) challenging most everyone, but in this case mostly school mates, for the right to be himself. Represented by the two sides divergent lines: "Let's make America great again." vs. "Love who you are going to love." Basic film themes were understanding & tolerance. An aside, if you make it to the end I'm not quite sure about the honesty of the election results. The only script criticism I would have is that both sides (Bloom vs. family & schoolmates) in this mini-war should understand the challenges of the other side. Great acting; costumes. Another tolerance film recently released is "In Between", dealing w/Palestinian religious/cultural issues.

chrisandmark-44838 Freak Show has easily been my most eagerly awaited movie of the past year and when it was finally released I waisted no time in seeing it however I was left deflated and in need of something more, ultimately the story being told is important and deserved a better script, with more fleshed out characters, potrayls, more feeling, emotion, warmth and it was good for what it was but it could have really been special if they had of tried more.I'm new to the boundfully talented Alex Lawther and I have quickly signed myself up as a fan of his so when I realised that he was the lead in this movie I was thrilled and when you throw in Bette Midler who has been attached to this project since they beginning then I settled myself in for what I expected to be quite the treat of a movie.Early on in the movie I found myself mesmerized by Lawther, he captivates you with his genuine, awkward, honest and charming potrayal of Billy Bloom. His refreshing and quiet brilliant style of acting with his subtle yet on the money mannerisms, movements and playfulness with the dialogue is wonderful however it's just a shame that all this talent was for the most part waisted on what could have been something really special.Going in to this movie I wasn't sure what message I was going to get at the end but expected for the movie to be more multi layered than what was offered. I was expecting a world wind of emotion, anger and frustration due to story being told at the heart of the movie being unfairly and frustratingly as real in today's society as it has for generations, they issue and story deserves better and more than a one-dimentional, phone it in movie that overall for me felt like an educational movie that would be played in schools. Were was the backstory and multi-layered characters...why should I believe in and releate to Billy Bloom or get angry or a better understanding of the beliefs of Abigail Breslins character? The characters were flat and stereotypical with no depth. I wanted warmth and emotion from Billy Bloom as he fought to be who he wanted to be...i wanted anger and frustration...tears and fight when he was told he couldn't be who he wanted to be and I have no doubt that given the right material Alex Lawther could have truly shined in this role. Bette Midler as Muv was really Bette Midler being the usual Bette Midler, her character was a mess and not fully explained and appeared to be a after thought when it came to meaning and point but the same can be said for the rest of the supporting cast who looked to be phoning it in and bored throughout.Lawther is fabulous but at times can overly theatrical in a way that distracted me from what was happening in a scene, i wanted less costume changes and more storytelling...ok he is flamboyant gay but we didn't need 8-9 costume changes to make that point...less is more and I think the movie relied to much on the visual than the dialogue and meaning of why this story and issue needed to be told.In the end I wanted less FREAK SHOW and more just good old storytelling...the subject matter deserved a lot more.

pebsdad First off, any review that includes the director's name in the first line or paragraph of the review was clearly written by the movie's publicity department (see all previous reviews before this one).The movie is about a flamboyantly-dressed high school teen, the bullying he attracts (big surprise there), the kids who befriend him and the witless father figure and absent mother. ...and this movie is dreadful. I was looking forward to a "be your own self" coming of age movie and the trailer looked interesting but this one makes no sense and is as unrealistic as any story could be. None of the relationships are believable, you can't figure out why the school jock would befriend this over-the-top rich kid, and everyone else is a stock stereotype. Even Bette Midler's performance, whose casting also brought me to the movie, is ridiculously over acted. I'm not sure what they intended the film's title to refer to because to call the main character a Freak Show would be bullying in itself and to call the whole thing would be, well...more accurate.

Diand Trudie Styler's first feature film is about staying loyal to yourself and what you stand for despite being bullied and physically assaulted. That this theme touched a nerve during the Berlinale, where it was shown in the Generation14+ youth section, was clear with a raving audience afterwards and long lines waiting before the cinema.Bullying is still not taken serious enough in our society: nearly all people have experienced it at some time in their lives, either at work, school, leisure, at home or in the public space. Leading often to violence by the bullied person, or depression and in the worst cases suicide, the latter being the leading cause of death among the age group of 15-25. So this movie will be a good education tool for schools to discuss the theme.The movie is fluently directed, well edited by Sophia Copolla's frequent editor Sarah Flack, has wonderful costumes and the soundtrack plus score is fitting. Although mostly aimed at a youth audience, Bette Midler and John McEnroe have small roles so the parents aren't left out. The young British actor Alex Lawther (the young Alan Turing in The Imitation Game) played the lead character Billy Bloom and has some future ahead I guess.There is an interesting parallel with Mean Girls, as the part where Billy analyses his voters and classmates has the same kind of sociological and psychological analysis that made that movie so interesting.During the Q&A afterwards Trudie talked about how certain bullies receive great power, sometimes even leading to the White House. And bullying is indeed often associated with the so-called dark triad (narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy).