BLU RAY REVIEW: Entertainment (2015)

"That's what it's all about folks, having fun"

One of the most thought provoking and darkly disturbing films in recent memory, Alverson's "Entertainment" pits Gregg Turkington against the paralyzing isolation of the Mojave desert.

Similarly to Alverson's last outing "The Comedy", "Entertainment" has left me dizzy and emotionally wrecked. The deadpan nature of Turkington's performance builds a sort of tragically comedic momentum throughout the film's running time, which is at once draining and hilarious.

The film works in almost an episodic structure, depicting The Comedian moving through vignettes of increasingly bizarre/threatening situations; the woman in labour in the public bathroom, Michael Cera's turn as the vaguely ominous male prostitute. The Comedian's realistic interaction with these events paints him in a humanist light and serves to further push the surrounds of the film into a kind of surrealist terror.

The Comedian is approaching middle-age, he realises he is never going to achieve his dream as a successful performer, and yet finds himself paralysed by this notion - Too afraid to try anything different, too afraid to give up. Tye Sheridan's clown is really the only counterpart to Turkington's character, supporting him at performances. The Clown has potential, he's young, the audience love his jokes, despite their crude and obtuse nature.

As The Comedian becomes more frustrated with his settings, the film becomes an almost Lynchian psychological horror. Echoes of Mulholland Drive stir in the mind as we watch Turkington fall deeper and deeper into a state of absolute despair, he'll never achieve his dreams. Because of this, The Comedian's psyche begins to split at the seams, allowing The Mojave desert to open up as a nightmarish symbol of his inability to escape himself.

RATING: 5/5