#Weekends awa movie#
#Weekends awa driver#

Overall, the use of him in this story feels like a white woman’s weird, problematic fantasy that should’ve been left in the drafts and, ideally, never written down at all. Furthermore, his characterization leans into a tired trope that justifies an immigrant’s existence based on their morality and service. There’s a concerted focus on his generosity and kindness that ironically underscores the fact that he shouldn’t be doing Beth any favors at all. The film makes no effort to counteract the stereotypes and cliches that emerge when a man of Zain’s ethnicity and immigration status acts as an unpaid chauffeur and security guard for a random white woman embroiled in serious legal drama that threatens his own livelihood.

#Weekends awa driver#

Additionally, much of her mission is aided by a handsome Syrian cab driver named Zain (Ziad Bakri), whose immaculately timed appearances and selfless contributions to Kate’s case prompt perpetual eye-rolling. She’s a surprisingly fast-thinking sleuth and vigilante with straightforward opportunities to snap photos, sneak into forbidden areas, and parse through evidence. In relation to the film’s pacing, one of The Weekend Away’s most glaring issues is that Beth’s journey in solving Kate’s disappearance doesn’t come across as particularly difficult, despite the genuinely stressful and overwhelming situation she’s in.

Likewise, we arrive at different locations and glean new information the way you would move a piece around a board game until you get to the inevitable end. However, the film maintains a steady, formulaic rhythm throughout that doesn’t allow for any real suspense or emotional buildup before Beth uncovers something new. From there, we learn some new developments and surprising revelations about Kate and Beth’s relationship and a few mysterious side characters. Blood is splattered on the floor and Kate is nowhere to be found.īeth promptly reports a missing persons case to Croatian police, who exhibit the level of indifference you would expect about a woman who does coke and takes men home from clubs. After agreeing to mingle with the guys, Beth wakes up the next morning with only a few startling memories of the previous night. When the two go out for a night of clubbing, Kate introduces Beth to a group of men and encourages her to have a one-night stand to potentially re-charge her currently chaste relationship. Beth flies from her home in London to Croatia to spend a weekend with her free-spirited, cocaine-snorting best friend Kate (Christina Wolfe), who’s recently divorced and living extravagantly off her ex’s money. Meester plays Beth, a young mother in an unsatisfying relationship with an English man named Rob (Luke Norris), who has a subtly distrustful vibe we pick up on early in the film.

#Weekends awa movie#

“While a new Netflix movie will most certainly offer Meester more visibility and generate some nostalgia, it doesn’t do her any favors as a talented performer.” And even though the film’s foreign setting and its subject matter, which somewhat resembles the real-life story of Amanda Knox, appeared overly familiar, a crime story about female friendship, sex, drugs, and scattered memories seemed like it could take some fun and exciting turns. The trailer for the new thriller-which is based on the novel of the same name by Sarah Alderson, who wrote the script-teased a more complex, mystifying psychological thriller thanks to some crafty editing. In that way, it’s not totally surprising that The Weekend Away, Netflix’s latest original film, debuting Thursday, feels more like an errand than a piece of art. Most significantly, because they’re confined to a specific, profit-driven blueprint involving rigorous testing, these movies usually aren’t great. And in case you’re folding laundry or cleaning your bedroom while watching, characters will occasionally announce what they’re doing to keep you up to speed, much like a standard telemovie or a primetime show. There’s hardly any experimenting with sound or cinematography. They’re paced so that something eventful is happening at every moment to preserve your attention.

As Netflix continues to mass-produce original movies, it’s become easier to spot the elements and safeguards put in place to guarantee as many eyeballs as possible so the streamer can gleefully announce on Twitter that one of its films broke a new record for viewership (without providing any evidence).įrequent consumers of these films-as opposed to the ones purchased and distributed by Netflix-know they’re relatively short, often clocking in under two hours.