“Aloha” is used to say goodbye and hello in Hawaii. Sadly the only good part of this movie was saying goodbye to it.
Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, Rachel McAdams and John Krasinski are stars who rarely disappoint. Expecting the typical extraordinary level of acting from such award-winning cast members, I was sorely disappointed. A completely ridiculous script and poor direction drowned out their talent. Cameron Crowe, the writer and director, has unleashed quite easily the worst movie of 2015.
The story begins with a short narration from Cooper, playing private military contractor (I think) Brian Gilcrest, and the first seed of confusion is sown. You’re left to piece together random details of the past given to you in vague dialogue with random characters. There were a million things going on in this movie, one percent of which were properly explained and resolved. Additionally, the characters were too dynamic – Brian Gilcrest is a tough military man, a bitter unrequited lover, a sensitive romantic, a defender of Hawaiian rights, an astronomer and a rocket scientist to name a few. One character can only hold so much plot, and Cooper could not hold all this together. Although each portion was played decently individually, his constantly changing personality left the audience deeply confused and detached from the plot line.
References to past relationships and disasters are made throughout and only serve to increase the air of confusion. The backstory is too complex for the already complex story-line, and the time would have been better spent attempting to explain details that the audience needs to understand, such as what Gilcrest’s job actually entails. Seeing as his job is the reason for the story to begin with, it might have cleared things up. Might have.
On top of a poor script, the direction was straight up bizarre. There were long scenes in which characters either made grand statements that didn’t make sense, or just meaningfully stared at one another. At least 15 minutes of the movie was dedicated to close ups of characters’ faces as the audience watched in uncomfortable silence, wondering if getting a popcorn refill was worth it.
With a name such as Aloha one would expect for a theme of Hawaiian culture to make an appearance. However, the portrayal was uninspired and cliche. The Hawaiian natives were depicted as ignorant pawns of the government, unable to deal with the United States military. There was no original interpretation of the meaning of “aloha.” In fact, the actual meaning (meant to essentially recognize the breath of life, or ha, in another person) is completely ignored and commercialized. The advertising catchphrase, “Sometimes you have to say goodbye before you can say hello,” displayed on the movie poster and in commercials has no bearing on the story whatsoever.
This movie was weird beyond words. The only thoughts running through my mind were either “everyone in this movie is gorgeous” and “what the hell is going on?” For cast, this movie deserves a 5/5, but when taking into account directing, script, special effects and all those other little details, a 1/5 is being generous.
Thankfully, I went to the matinee. At least it’s only $11 I’ll consider completely wasted.
