Wander Darkly (2020) User Reviews

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[andreascaloni · 6/10 · 31 March 2021]

Wander Darkly tells the story of Adrienne and Matteo, a couple whose fractured relationship dances on a knife's edge when a tragic car accident unfolds. The movie has a great ending and some good performances both from Sienna Miller and Diego Luna. However the film is sometimes confused, predictable and slow.

Rating: 5,7.

Emotional and haunting about trauma and conflict.

[cruise01 · 7/10 · 9 February 2021]

3.5 out of 5 stars.

Wander Darkly is a pretty fair film about a couple Adrienne (Sienna Miller) and Matteo (Diego Luna) who are struggling with there relationship. When an accident leaves them in a trauma. Where they face the past and current conflict with there relationship. They try to resolve there conflict that is holding them back.

The plot i can not say much more without going into spoiler territory. It was surprisingly good. A car accident affecting them both. Such as facing life after death. Dealing with loss and grief. And how a humans mind work itself in dealing with trauma. Adrienne and Matteo are dealing with a troubled relationship. Where they test each others love for one and another.

It is an emotional movie. And has a twist that will keep you guessing til the end. Diego Luna and Sienna Miller did a great job with there roles.

I did find the exposition being too dragged on. And slow in the end. But it is a wonderful film.

a second look at us

[ferguson-6 · 7/10 · 10 December 2020]

Greetings again from the darkness. An ambitious filmmaker by nature takes risks that other filmmakers don't, sometimes to the detriment of their own success. However, for those of us who maintain a crazy pace of movie watching, we tend to relish those who find a way to try something different - turn a familiar story into one we might not have seen before. So hats off to writer-director Tara Miele (THE LAKE EFFECT, 2010) for jolting the frequently used flashback effect and making it into an interactive experience.

Adrienne (Sienna Miller) and Matteo (Diego Luna) are a normal couple going through the kind of rough patch that many couples will relate to. They have chosen to not get married, yet they have a newborn baby and recently purchased a home (despite job situations that don't seem to add up). The pressures of adulting have resulted in frustrations and distrust to the point that Adrienne questions if the relationship should even continue. Their solution is scheduling "date nights", and the one we see is a date night gone bad ... and then worse.

What follows is Adrienne and Matteo on a surreal trek through the hazy memories of their relationship via moments in time that play like foggy dreams. We see good moments and bad, and the two hash out what they really thinking at the time - all while Adrienne tries to make sense of her new situation. There are some similarities here to Michel Gondry's excellent ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (2004), but at its core, this is a heartfelt examination of trauma, love, memories, and grief as they relate and impact a relationship.

Beth Grant provides support work as Adrienne's mother, but it's Sienna Miller who delivers what may be a career best performance. She has always been a fine actress, but this may be the widest range of emotions she's ever had to convey. The dialogue may be a bit sketchy at times, but we recognize every portion of this flawed relationship. Watching a couple re-live actual past situations and debate on what was said or what was meant, is a history lesson that cuts deeply. A clip from NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD is purposeful in its inclusion, but I won't disclose anything further in regards to the nature of these characters and what they go through. I'll only say that filmmaker Miele (a Grand Jury award winner at Sundance) does really nice work in showing how physical trauma and emotional trauma so often go hand-in-hand. In select theaters and On Demand December 11, 2020

Unusual treatment of a couple examining their commitment to each other.

[TxMike · 16 June 2021]

This movie makes sense when you know that it is mostly the writer-director's own story. She and her husband were in a bad automobile accident and when she regained consciousness she wouldn't see. Thus the title 'Wander Darkly.' She developed that experience into this fictional story.

The couple are Sienna Miller as Adrienne and Diego Luna as Matteo. They are not married but decided to have a child who is a few months old when the movie starts. They have relationship baggage that needs to get sorted out and their accident is the catalyst for that.

It would be impossible for me to write a logical narrative after viewing the movie, in many ways it is like watching a series of dream sequences. However I enjoyed it, both lead actors are very good in their roles, especially Miller.

I watched it at home on DVD from my public library. My wife skipped, she was on a golf trip.

Truth in the Story and Twist in the End!

[surferdevil-46740 · 7/10 · 3 May 2021]

I would have rated this at a 5 but give it a 7 as the director actually lived the idea in the plot (director's commentary) and so has first hand knowledge. That fact always gives it a nudge upwards for me as there is truth in the story and not just there for entertainment. Sometimes truth in the story is not compatible with better pacing in a film, but for me reality wins out every time. If it starts to drag a bit, keep at it as the ending is worth the wait.

Haunting and beautiful film

[Vindelander · 7/10 · 4 November 2021]

It is a very different treatment of a familiar theme and worth seeing just for the fine performances of Miller and Luna. Difficult to follow at first viewing so, like Memento, would be worth seeing at least twice.

Beautiful cinematography and excellent script make this a very under-rated film imo.

Maudlin, Pointless, Tearjerker

[WinterOf63 · 3/10 · 7 May 2023]

If you're too happy and want to bring yourself down a notch, watch this movie. That wouldn't even be so bad, except that at the end, you realize that you've been duped.

As the film starts, we're introduced to an, at first, seemingly happy young couple, Adrienne and Metteo, with a new baby and a new house. But, as the layers of the onion are peeled back, we realized that they're not really happy at all. In fact, there's major doubts about fidelity and commitment on both sides. They've way over extended themselves financially and have to depend on her parents for babysitting and support. Matteo and her parents do not get along at all. The fact Matteo hasn't ask her to marry him probably doesn't help.

It's date night and Matteo has forgotten all about it. In the car they argue and there is talk of splitting up. Matteo is distracted, causing a terrible wreck. At this point the movie takes a "Jacob's Ladder" turn. Don't believe anything you see from here on.

After the big reveal, the movie ends on a sappy note designed to wring a final tear from the audience. Sienna Miller, who plays Adrienne, is the main reason to watch this, if you feel like putting yourself through it.

purgatory first half

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 1 May 2021]

Married couple Adrienne (Sienna Miller) and Matteo (Diego Luna) has a car accident. She seems to be dead as she exists in purgatory living out one memory after another.

The first half struggles to find a narrative drive. It needs a mystery, a goal, or a point to the story. In a way, it's stuck in purgatory like the protagonist. There is a mystery to be had if the film doesn't start with her in a morgue drawer. The first half could be her struggling to figure out if she's dead. The second half does find a couple of points and it gets interesting. All in all, there is some fine acting and this is a fine small indie.

Unlikable characters make this film hard to care about

[ScoobySnacks66 · 5/10 · 24 July 2021]

The movie could have been great but Sienna Miller's character is so unlikable I just couldn't get into it or care about anything going on in the film. The script needed to create a love connection between the leads in order for me to invest emotionally into the story and the trauma they suffered.

Well executed and daring

[lpgprince · 7/10 · 21 March 2022]

Although this film successfully pulls off a twist and a half, that is not where its main strength lies. The brilliant execution leads you to such depths of empathy where you want to die with the character.

It is challenging yet the writer pulled off character development in the strangest of ways.

Thank God for fast forward

[No_me_at_all · 1/10 · 15 January 2021]

In the time of pandemia, seclusion, and streaming, thank God for fast forward!

Strangely beautiful

[redinnevada · 8/10 · 30 April 2022]

I don't understand the low rating when most reviews are good with ratings of 7 and above.

It's Inception meets Sixth Sense in a way. This movie presents a story that while at first feels confusing due to the flashbacks and forwards, if close attention is paid it starts to gel in it's telling the story of how we might see our lives in the last moments. They say we see it all in a flash in that split second. This presents that split second but takes a movie length to do it and it felt real, haunting, right in how it showed it. Joys and pain and what if's and coulda'beens. All at once. I want this last second visions but of my own story.

The last 5 minutes though, heartbreaking when she and us realize, it was he who died. But her mind played tricks to protect her from the pain. Sadly too real. And really well presented throughout.

I could watch it again, to catch things I probably missed the first time. Just as I've rewatched Sixth Sense a few times to fill in the mystery holes. Highly recommend it.

Tearjerker

[ixtasis · 7/10 · 17 February 2021]

I hadn't cried in a long time. There's really not a lot to say about this film that the watcher shouldn't experience for themselves and that hasn't been said my past reviewers.

Terrible, Skip This Tripe!

[martimusross · 3/10 · 11 October 2021]

Wander Darkly

This movie had all the ingredients of a top notch movie, the script just lacked any heart, they went through the motions but it just wasn't convincing! I think perhaps there was just no chemistry between the leads and the interacts to stilted and cerebral!

The movie was remarkable in that most of the dialogue was expressed in the 3rd person.

Sienna Miller has a dominating presence, shear class, but it could not save this movie.

Overall the movie was an unwatchable disjointed mess and I can only give it a weak 3 outta 10, meaning what were they thinking making this tripe!

Just save yourself the time

[misspriss92479 · 7/10 · 26 September 2023]

And go watch "what dreams may come"-similar concept, better execution. Honestly I had never heard of this movie it just came on late last night and it's not exactly the best movie to watch before bed, unless you want to fall asleep, which I did, BUT had been intrigued enough by it that I just finished the rest of it it tonight. Here's what I think, individually the actors were great, but together they lacked any chemistry so it made it difficult to feel anything for them. Especially her, as well as she acted, her character was not likeable. Even with the way the movie ended, I should've cried, but just couldn't find enough emotional commitment to the story.

Muddled

[westsideschl · 4/10 · 9 March 2021]

Overhead view of car on freeways & streets; the first of many signs of a cheap production. Flashbacks with time or scene jumps were excessive if not confusing. Thus a vague muddled storyline. Didn't buy the premise.

A bit twisting at the end, but overall full of super annoying overuse scene! Avoid at all freaking cost!

[kwenchow · 1/10 · 5 February 2021]

This film start with a woman "Adrienne" cuddling her baby, and a man "Matteo" watching both of them scene! As turnout, this film is about a series of memories of Adrienne with her husband "Matteo", after the killing of Matteo in a car accident! Entire film full of boring conversation, and annoying overuse scene! Such as, overuse of the driving scene, overuse of the flashbacks scene, overuse of the upside down scene, overuse of the kissing scene, overuse of the drinking scene, overuse of the baby crying scene, overuse of the arguing scene, and overuse of the taking pills scene! Make the film unwatchable! At the end, after found out Matteo already dead, Adrienne, and her daughter watching dolphin on the boat! That's it! Wasting time to watch!

Wander Darkly

[marmar-69780 · 5/10 · 14 December 2020]

Wander Darkly is one very interesting film that has a very cool concept behind it that was explored in a very cool way but still i felt like this film was trying to hard to impress audiance and cause of that i wasnt so touched or emotionaly invested in this story and its characters.Actors did a good jobs expecely Diego Luna who was the best part of this film,but Sienna in other hand had some weaker parts in showing her abbilities but she was survicable in the end.Wander Darkly is for sure one film that has a cool idea but it was trying to hard in end

Amazing, heart wrenching tale

[MovieQween-33622 · 10/10 · 25 February 2021]

Sienna Miller is just exquisite. She pulls you in and never lets go. This story was so beautiful, dark, raw, real and heart wrenching. A story of love and life. Also loss... Reminds me of the film, What Dreams May Come with the late Robin Williams. It's one of my favorites. I don't want to give away any spoilers. But it's worth a watch. It drew some tears from me throughout the movie and definitely streaming tears at the end. Beautifully done, great chemistry with Sienna and Diego Luna! Not sure why Vanessa Bayer was randomly in here? But other than that amazing film.

Avoid this movie.....

[johnnunzio70 · 1/10 · 18 December 2021]

It took me several hours to watch this movie, as I kept falling asleep due to utter boredom. If you cant fall asleep and are in dire need of a good snooze, than this movie is for you. Otherwise, I suggest avoiding this movie.

22 minute review.

[pdbodyshop · 5/10 · 6 May 2022]

Looking at other reviews I know this movie must have got better after the 22 minute mark. As far as me this was as far as I made it. Slow and boring. I guess it's just not my type of movie.

A Haunting Exploration of Love and Loss

[Mysterygeneration · 5/10 · 30 March 2024]

"Wander Darkly" provides viewers on an insightful trip through Adrienne's (Sienna Miller) and Matteo's (Diego Luna) broken relationship. Following a horrific catastrophe, the movie delves into a strange investigation of their memories, skillfully and unsettlingly fusing the past and present.

The film's core performances are its strongest points. Strong depictions of a marriage battling love, grief, and the severe wounds from trauma are given by Miller and Luna. Their characters negotiate a complicated and frequently tense dynamic, but their chemistry is evident.

Tara Miele, the director, creates an amazing visual work of art. The editing skillfully combines grounded reality with dreamlike moments to create a gorgeous, bewildering universe that mirrors the protagonists' inner anguish. With eerie tunes that stick in your head long after the credits have rolled, the movie's soundtrack only serves to heighten the mood.

Seeing "Wander Darkly" is not simple. It addresses challenging subjects like regret, sadness, and the transience of existence. For those looking for a film that is both intellectually and emotionally compelling, it's a worthwhile experience, nonetheless. "Wander Darkly" is a picture that defies conventional wisdom, but for those who are open to its singular storytelling, it presents a compelling examination of love, grief, and the resilience of the human spirit.

A real 'page turner' of a film

[bowers-40806 · 9/10 · 16 February 2021]

Full of reminders about the importance of making each day count

A Beautiful and Unique Meditation on Life, Death, Love, and Loss

[TheHound16 · 10/10 · 5 February 2021]

A gorgeous film, from start to finish. Beautifully shot, seamlessly edited (which creates a fluid, dreamlike, and effortless feeling through much of the film). Raw, messy, and incredibly relatable as well. The actors were superb (Sienna Miller and Diego Luna had wonderful, believable chemistry). Such a unique film, I haven't quite seen anything quite like it. And, without giving anything away, I found myself sobbing for the last 20 minutes. Highly recommend, just watch if you get a chance and enjoy the journey.

Surprisingly sad and touching

[k_ztro · 9/10 · 26 January 2020]

No spoilers*** great movie for couples, a very cliche plot portrayed in a very interesting way which makes it very digestible and enjoyable for any adult audience. Sensitive people beware to take some tissues with you.