a review of 逃脱

i have really complicated feelings about this. parts are really cute and beautiful. other parts are flat out annoying nonsense. i think the writer is trying to tell someone's entire life story and talk about like five different deeply complex aspects of mental health all in two hours, and of course fails at that monstrous task. i almost wish the writer had given themselves a narrower scope to tackle, i think maybe something really cool could have come from that, but as it stands all the stuff is mediocre or good, but mostly all feels unfinished (maybe that's a metaphor for sobriety) as someone who struggled with active addiction almost half the years i've been alive, parts of this were really hard to watch. i absolutely hate that aa / twelve step programs and rehab programs based on abstinence and twelve step culture continue to be presented as by far the most mainstream (basically only) depiction of how people get sober. this is hilariously bad. the vast majority of people i know who have fought their way out of active addiction did not do it via those methods. in fact, there are studies that suggest that aa may actually be worse than doing nothing when it comes to treating addiction. i want narratives to talk about harm reduction and acknowledge the reality that addiction and the way people ultimately attain (or don't attain) sobriety is very very different for each person who experiences it. also, let's stop portraying these super caricaturized versions of mental health. i do think one really cute aspect of the writing that feels super real is the slow and boring and mundane process of watching this woman just parent herself into adulthood in early sobriety. it's not glamorous, and it's like a process of learning to appreciate small things and play and be okay with being okay. that part of the movie is beautiful. it's a bummer it only lasts like 20-30 minutes. Saoirse Ronan is pretty freaking good. despicable, annoying, vulnerable, sweet, earnest. i think i'll prob end up watching this again.