Just saw this film last night. Beautiful, weird, surprising, funny, sweet, poignant film. I find myself liking it more and more the longer I think about it. Some people may find the film uncomfortable but isn't that the point of the film? That the things society shames us into feeling uncomfortable about and hiding shouldn't make us feel ashamed.

But I also see Manny as being the part of Hank's psyche that society has taught him to hide or discard (like the trash Manny keeps referencing). As the film goes on Hank starts to love Manny and I see this as a possible symbol of Hank incorporating that previously rejected part of his psyche back into himself. Not only accepting it but recognizing how amazing it is, and coming to love it.

I don't think it's coincidence that the scene where Hank kisses Manny is underwater and once they resurface he accepts that Manny makes him happy away from society's restrictions as water is often associated with rebirth. Not to mention that the literal resurfacing of the characters is also a symbol of the repressed and rejected part of Hank's psyche and personality that has resurfaced from his subconscious.

When they finally get back to society Manny has been shamed into thinking he's disgusting because Hank has taught him everything that society teaches us and Hank says not to say that, which is sort of a symbol for Hank telling himself not to let society make him feel ashamed again.

Manny dies on the lawn, a sign that society starts trying to shame Hank into repressing that part of himself again. But when they try to take Manny's body he says he won't let them; A symbol for Hank not letting society squash that part of him again. And in the end Manny farts off into the ocean and Hank is happy because he doesn't need Manny anymore because he's incorporated that previously repressed part into himself now and accepts it. There are countless other examples of symbolism for accepting ones whole self throughout the movie but I've talked long enough. I definitely recommend this film. Some people may think it's too weird for them, but I think maybe they're the ones who need it's message most.

They got me for a second at the end when they referred to Paul Dano as Manny.

Who would have thought my favorite romantic movie of the year would have been between Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe

Loved it. I think Mary Elizabeth Winstead's last line in the movie perfectly summed it up.

I know it's a minor point but I'm glad the movie ultimately acknowledges that taking pictures of random girls on the bus isn't sensitive and romantic but is instead actually super creepy.

Alright I'm gonna try and put my thoughts together on this incredibly strange film:

As I understood it, the movie is about a guy with an extremely unhealthy obsession with a girl. He never had the social skills needed to succeed in the world as it exists today, and he was always too self conscious to try and make a change. He leaves behind a life that in his mind wasn't worth living in the first place, and starts living in the woods behind her house. He basically doesn't understand how or why people could enjoy being in their bodies, living the lives that they live every day, when there are so many things you have to worry about NOT doing. He probably suffers from severe anxiety.

Because he feels that he doesn't belong in the modern world, he imagines himself as a cast away on a tiny island surrounded by water, kind of like how he's on his own little metaphorical island with no way of communicating with the people around him. He is ashamed of his obsession with a girl he knows he can never actually get, but he is too in love with her to physically separate himself. So instead he lives in the woods by her house. Close enough physically that his obsession is maintained, but as far away mentally as possible.

The body washing up on shore is real, but I think Manny is dead the entire time and the events that happen in the movie mostly happen in Hank's head. Basically, Hank teaching Manny about life is his own way of teaching himself how to navigate the complex societal norms of a world he has never fully understood. Everyone always says that the only time you can say you actually understand a concept is when you can teach it to someone else. In Hank's mind, he teaches himself how the world works by imagining that he's teaching Manny - this simplistic and essentially "empty" vessel that asks all the questions Hank (and us the audience) think but are too afraid to ask, especially about taboo topics like bodily functions.

As Hank successfully grapples with and understands all these societal norms, Manny becomes more and more "alive" and helps Hank navigate back to the real world. The cell phone getting reception is also probably in Hank's own mind, and symbolizes how close/far he is mentally from civilization.

As Hank slowly learns how the world works, he uses Manny to play out how his ideal life would unfold, if he had all these societal skills when he first saw the girl on the bus. Because he's still ashamed of his love for a woman who is clearly taken, he has Manny play his role, while he pretends to be the girl.

While all this unfolds, he also realizes from Manny that there is no need to be so ashamed of certain things. There are a lot of things people view negatively with no real explanation as to why they are bad. This also helps Hank grow as a person because it helps him confront his shame and come to terms with the fact that everybody does embarrassing things, and it doesn't define you as a person. Manny "dying" once they get back to civilization is partly due to the audience being reintroduced to the "real" world, and partly due to Hank regressing to his original ashamed self, unable to talk and repressing all of the freedom that Manny embodies. Hank betrays this mutual reliance that they both have developed (Hank teaches Manny about how to behave in public, and Manny teaches Hank how to accept his faults) so Manny "dies" and now we see that the body was always dead, and everyone else sees a delusional man who claims this corpse has been alive all along.

The ending is kind of a tongue-in-cheek way of reiterating what the entire movie is about - owning up to your weirdness and accepting it as a part of your life, rather than repressing it. The directors want us as the audience to think "what the fuck?" the same way we would if a grown man just walked up to us and farted really loudly. I guess it's their way of practicing what they preach. Like, "yes there is a traditional way to end movies like this. But fuck it, we're going to fart instead"

Incredibly shot, amazing score, and one of the most unique stories to come out this year. It's a solid 8/10, with two points deducted mostly for accessibility. This isn't a movie I would recommend everyone go see, sadly. You need a certain sense of humor to enjoy it. I can completely understand why a lot of people absolutely hated it.

This movie spoke to me in some heavy ways. I think the hardest part was when they were on the "bus" and manny was just so excited to see things out the window, talk to people, sing songs, and Hank was just like, "no the bus sucks, nobody sings, we don't socialize." It really made me think about how alone so many of us feel, and how much we do it to ourselves.

I brought my brother to this, and he hadn't seen a single trailer and didn't know the premise. He was very confused.

So can anyone tell me what the camera man was talking about when he said he thought he'd seen Hank before?

Beautiful movie. Having watched some of Daniels' other things, I've noticed a common theme of magic (or fantastical things) being weird and gross and freaking people out while still being real.

My two favorite sections were when the relationship roleplaying intensified (the bus and party especially) and then at the end when we saw Hank through everyone else's perspective, while still believing in what he'd experienced somehow.

This felt like a weird fairytale for adults about loneliness. 10/10 for anyone willing to suspend disbelief and give into the weirdness.

I honestly don't know how to explain my thoughts on the movie.

I liked it. I loved how unique it was. I loved the ending having a kind of fake out moment where you weren't sure what was real. The farting went from funny to stupid to endearing which was a weird trajectory. Dano and Radcliffe were awesome. Dano made too convincing of a Mary Elizabeth Winstead. It was just a very endearing movie and was off the wall and showed me just why indie cinema will never really die. No major studio would touch this film, and I'm happy to see it get made.

If you don't know Jurassic Park, you don't know shit.

Something I haven't seen discussed much in reviews of this film: If you are aware of Daniels previous work at all Interesting Ball for example , you may pick up on something about them that I truly respect.

They have an amazing understanding of "cliche" in filmmaking. What I mean by that is that basically filmmakers/films constantly recycle certain techniques that can be used to easily trigger an emotional response within an audience. Usually this is done through things like score, performance, and camera technique. Two simple examples of this: Epic score, slow motion shots, someone screaming violently as they run -- We are pumped for this amazing battle scene. Or: Sad piano music, intense close ups, whispers -- We should care about this person dying.

Daniels understanding of these cliches is something that they use to their advantage in what I will dub the "Emotionally Heavy" scenes within their work. Here is what they do in their own use of cliche:

-- Score: They often use intense, sweeping, overwhelming scoring, that is usually reserved for more "intense" films. Something you would normally hear in a Gladiator, an Inception, a Transformers, or at the end of a documentary intended to blow your god damn mind at how vast the universe is. -- Acting: The intense, exaggerated, and almost heavy handed performances (not in a bad way mind you) are obviously encouraged by them, especially in relation to emotional beats and scenes that they know pack a punch. -- The Camera: They are very visual directors, and are aware of the type of framing, technique, and style of cinematography that is used which is associated with epic/intense -- Slow motion, sweeping pans, crazy camera moves.

But here's what makes what they do interesting: They can replicate film cliche so well, they have found a way to transcend it and make it wholly original. They do this by applying these techniques to ridiculous scenarios, situations, or subject matter that is usually not reserved for such intensity. Thus, making something that shouldn't be handled so epically/intensely/sadly, cranked up to 11. And that juxtaposition, the collision of well known cliches with non-cliche subject matter, messes with our expectations in a brilliant way.

The ending of the film is a brilliant example of this. We are treated to an "epic ending" cliche. It's almost superhero like in fashion, i.e. this Spider-Man ending -- Tobey McGuire flying through the city with helicopters towards the sunset But when this technique is applied to a scene where a corpse comes back to life, and farts off into the sunset happily -- some of us can't handle what is happening, and some of us get excited about filmmaking again... But, I guess that's just my opinion, man.