Sundance 2021: John and the Hole Review

This will be one of many reviews during this year’s Sundance Film Festival, to keep up with our latest coverage, click here.

John and the Hole is yet another film with a silly title and premise that should not be outright dismissed based on those points alone. While it admittedly is on the weird side, this original coming-of-age story boasts a compelling story about growing up but can’t quite sustain that energy as the film clearly ran out of runway by the end. Going a little too far in the wrong direction in terms of weirdness, the film certainly could have benefitted from a more straight approach though a strong central performance works to keep it afloat in spite of its issues. The film of course tells the story of a 13-year-old boy named John (Shotwell) who discovers an unfinished bunker near the back of his house where he suddenly chose to drug and drag his unconscious family, including his affluent parents (Hall and Ehle) and older sister (Farmiga) into. The cold and emotionally-detached nature of John won’t be for everyone as it is bound to cause a disconnect between him and viewers. Nevertheless, his arc over the course of the film was still somewhat relatable.

The removal of his family afforded the naively-curious teen the chance to figure things out on his own. From there, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone as John took advantage of the situation like any teen would. While this was kind of fun to watch as he kept finding ways to keep it going, this was tempered by the fact that John’s perceived endgame was unclear though which did get frustrating after a while though it was clear that whatever his plan was, it wasn’t going to last. Meanwhile, John’s confused family fought to survive their current predicament while trying to figure out why they found themselves in the hole. The connection between John and his family was never there thus the lack of closure at the end will leave viewers disappointed and feeling as if their time was wasted.

In the end, the best part of John and the Hole was Shotwell’s performance and range as the titular character. While his eerie turn was unsettling, his charisma and relatability also made it easy to connect with that side of the character which at least made his journey watchable despite the thin characters.

At the end of the day, though it may not all work, those looking for something different should give John and the Hole a chance.

still courtesy of Sundance

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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.