Euphoria – An Incredibly Dull and Superficial Incoherent Mess

Originally premiering back at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival, Euphoria (not to be confused with HBO’s series Euphoria), has pretty much been sitting on the shelf for years as far as North America is concerned. After getting a home video release last summer in the United States, it is now getting the same treatment here in Canada. Now was it worth the wait, the answer to that question is a resounding no. Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean that the film had nothing going for it. Its stars Alicia Vikander and Eva Green will surely be draws but that is unfortunately the only thing the film has going for it. It’s a shame that these two actresses’ talents are wasted with this incredibly dull and trite mess whose countless attempts to introduce any level of profoundness with its big themes such as death and grief while tugging at viewers’ emotions fail miserably at the result of an convoluted and incoherent story that tries way too hard to be deep without ever saying anything noteworthy or bring anything remotely new to the table.

Euphoria follows a pair of estranged and seemingly polar opposite sisters named Ines (Vikander) and Emilie Thompson (Green) who reunite while traveling through Europe to a mystery destination. The cause of their estrangement stems from childhood but this merely one of many issues plaguing them and the film as a whole as it tries to be many things without doing any of them particularly well. Meanwhile, being seemingly compressed and rushed within such a short running time simply made it worse though it’s hard to imagine some viewers making it to the end of the film’s supposed 97 minute running time (it will surely feel longer at times for some viewers). Once the sisters got to their destination, things got worse (for them and for us), arriving at an affluent assisted suicide resort with the news that Emilie was dying from an unknown illness as she was approaching the end of her rope. Suffice it to say that this news took Innes by surprise as she was left reeling and trying to compensate with what her sister was going through.

One of the most frustrating aspects of Euphoria was how in handles some major themes in such a shallow and superficial way. It says so much without saying anything at all. This along with an incoherent story and insufferable characters muddies the waters and the resulting disconnect makes the overall experience an annoying and pointless chore. If only the film chose to pick a lane and stayed with it for long enough, it would be more bearable to watch. As it stands, it’s hard to follow or care about any of it which is the opposite effect a film like this wants. The film may also look decent but that won’t matter as most will just want things to end. Finally, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the best part of the film was Vikander and Green as Innes and Emilie. Their chemistry makes the film somewhat compelling to watch. If only they had better material to work with.

At the end of the day, Euphoria is a disappointing waste of time. Viewers should just stick to HBO’s Euphoria.

still courtesy of Lionsgate

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.