John and the Hole
Summary
John and the Holeis the 2021 debut feature moving picture from Spanish director Pascual Sisto , and its statements on wealth , maturity , and evil make for an intriguing deep dive . A come - of - old age motion-picture show with a sullen slant , John and the Hole ’s deed tells the interview on the dot what the film is about . Unsurprisingly , the movie is focus around 13 - class - old John ( Charlie Shotwell ) , the young tike of the affluent Shay home , and it ’s also very much about a hole in the ground , one John stumble across in the woods behind his rest home .
The film also starsMichael C. Hall in a post - Dexterroleas Brad , John ’s founder ; Jennifer Ehle as Anna , his mother ; and Taissa Farmiga as Laurie , his old sister . After John discovers a deep hole , the disaffected and nigh - emotionless young goes about dose his family and place them at the bottom of the pickle , interested in see what sprightliness is like as an grownup , that is , without anyone in his life able to tell him " no . " Along with being a coming - of - geezerhood pic , John and the Holeisa psychological thriller that questionswhy someone with everything still need more .
Some movie endings are so puzzling that they can spark debates which last for years . Fans can bang the picture show , but bomb to check on its meaning .
John And The Hole Is Not About Mental Illness
The Movie Has Other Concerns Than John’s Mental State
From John ’s introduction inJohn and the Hole , it ’s clear that there is something remaining about him . He utter with a stilted affectation , star icily at masses whether they are looking at him or not , and is more often than not subdued , content to say only a few dustup to others , include his family . It ’s never explicitly bring up in the film if John has a personality upset , and the only real reference to something being wrong is John ’s family making laugh about his " weird " questions .
Once John drugs his family and wheelbarrows them to the hole in the woods , it ’s readable he ’s made the jump from " upstage " to something much darker and troubling . What that something is , is not elaborate on , but Pascual Sisto answer a question regarding intentionalallusions between John and the stereotype of school day shootersbeing the " quiet kid " , saying ( viaMel Magazine ) ,
" I think , of course , we all see these terrible [ news stories ] everywhere . And we did talk about them with Charlie [ Shotwell ] . We always say that , sure , John could be a likely gun . He could terminate up in some screwball [ news story ] like that — of course , it ’s still crazy what he did , but it could have led to a darker , more potential wrongfulness .
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But we always wanted to say , ' What if this is a story of a case that does n’t [ do something terrible ] , but has the same issues and the same problem that you see in all these [ other ] kids ? ' "
Sisto is not concerned in diagnosing his moving-picture show ’s booster . Instead , John and the Holeis implicated with the specific why s of what John is doing . Why did he abduct his family ? Why is John so intrigued by the idea of being an grownup ? Why is John unsatiated with his ostensibly perfect living ? It ’s not crucial " what " is " incorrect " with John;John and the Holeis about something more abstract .
John Trapped His Family To Experience Adulthood
The Shays Are In The Way Of John Maturing
Throughout the beginning ofJohn and the Hole , John asks foreign and complex questions that his parent do n’t have the answers to . He often inquires about what it is like to be an adult , a question his parent are n’t able to reply because they do n’t know exactly why their Logos is asking it , and they may not have it away themselves . It ’s punishing to describe an geezerhood or impression while still in the thick of it . His parent clearly do n’t understand how interested their boy is in the question , and one morning , they unexpectedly wake up in the jam .
John ’s lifespan has been fill with the ennui of growing up wealthy . He ’s never had to live struggle and , at the same time , has never experienced true freedom since he is a teenager , under the careful watch of his parents . He site his phratry in the hole because he require the chance to experience life with all the freedoms that , theoretically , come with being an adult . John drinks wine , eats unhealthy amounts of junk food , drives the family line elevator car , has friend over , and expend his family ’s money on expensive gifts , but none of it ’s enough .
It ’s the simplicity of John ’s wish that create it so ominous .
John and the Hole is a psychological thriller directed by Pascual Sisto. The film follows a young boy named John, portrayed by Charlie Shotwell, who discovers an unused bunker near his family home. John traps his family inside the bunker as he attempts to understand newfound feelings of independence and control. The film also stars Michael C. Hall, Taissa Farmiga, and Jennifer Ehle.
After he play the part of adult , John realizes he prefer his life as it was previously . He ’s alone and , having sample what it ’s like to be grow up , he ’s ready to go back to being a small fry . It ’s the ease of John ’s wish that makes it so minacious . fantasize about being an grownup is something most adolescents have wondered about , but going to the extent John did to receive the touch is far removed from innocent childhood daydreaming .
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The Shays' Unwillingness To Punish John Is A Symptom Of The Family’s Issues
John Never Receives Any Comeuppance For His Actions
At the oddment of the moving picture , just as John ’s family is begin to hallucinate from hunger andthe psychological torture of realizing they may be trappedin the hole forever , a ladder short slide down into the cakehole . John has had enough of his experiment and rescues his parents and baby — which is foreign . If John is the type of person to leave his family stick in a hole while he go about his life as if nothing is wrong , it would follow that he would also be the type of person to lease his family perish .
Instead , the Shays are free and climb up the ladder to find John floating face down in the pond in an obvious artifice . Brad , putting everything he ’s been through out of his mind , at once jumps in the water to bring through him . John and the Holethen cuts to everyone wordlessly having dinner together in a funhouse mirror version of the movie ’s opening scene . The substance is clear : John will not be punish for his horrendous actions .
It ’s an inauspicious reality of society , but having money often take into account for someone to be above the normal rules and consequences those with less must get by with . The terminal figure " affluenza " first came to popularity in 2013 when it was used in the defense of a wealthy Texas adolescent who killed four people in a drunk drive chance event and received only probation from the judicature ( viaForbes ) . Since then , the intelligence has been used todescribe how the wealthy , and in finical , their children , do n’t face the same effect as others .
It ’s not just John who is corrupt , but the whole Shay family , who have allowed their toxicity to fester , and go forward to do so .
Despite drugging his family and trap them in a hole underground , John receives no punishment at the end ofJohn and the Hole . His parents do n’t even scream at him . He ’s behaved awfully and scupper those who are supposed to be close to him , and he receives no outcome of any kind for it . It ’s not just John who is corrupt , but the whole Shay family , who have allow their perniciousness to fester , and continue to do so .
John And The Hole Is A Fairy Tale
The Plot Of The Film Is Nested In A Fable Told From A Mother To Her Daughter
A fascinating aspect ofJohn and the Holeis the wrap - around segment that feature a immature girl , Lily ( Samantha LeBretton ) in bed , as her female parent , Gloria ( Georgia Lyman ) , tells her a bedtime report . These sequence never connect to the master story of John and the Shays , but about 30 minutes into the film , the shot bring down to Georgia walking into Lily ’s room , offering to recite her a story about " the hole " and a former form of address card appears that tell , John and the Hole .
John want to grow up so badly he was uncoerced to peril his family .
The implication is thatthe moving-picture show is actually a fairy tale told by a motherto her girl , who has been refusing to leave her way . Towards the movie ’s death , Gloria tells her 12 - year - old girl that she will be abandon her and suppose she has left Lily enough money to survive for a class , but she ’s on her own after that . It ’s here that the themes of the stories meet . John wanted to grow up so badly he was uncoerced to jeopardise his family . Lily , on the other hand , is being thrust into maturity unwillingly .
Gloria has used this story of John as a prophylactic fiction for her girl , telling her that if she were to coddle Lily too much , Lily would never con . Of naturally , this swing in the other direction is not healthy either , and Gloria ’s parenting style is just as problematic as the Shays' . This fable plot line helps to explicate some of the inconsistencies in the film , like the mechanics of the abduction , why the police force are easy turned away from John ’s place , and why everything conk out back to normal in the end .
The Real Meaning Of John And The Hole’s Ending
John And Lily Are Both Confronted With The Volatile Nature Of Growing Up
Both the independent floor ofJohn and the Holeand the wrap - around segment swear out to describe the danger of growing up and how sheltering a child , or the opposition , and more plainly cruel , abandoning them , can have fatal echo . Growing up is a grave suggestion for anyone , be they affluent , pitiable , a daughter of a single mother , or a son in a atomic mob . John and the Holeis not just a cautionary tale for Lily but also for the
audience , a reminder that if children are not safely and positively ushered into adulthood , consequences can be dire .
" John and the Hole has element that form . Although the motion picture is Sisto ’s first feature - length film , he clearly has a knifelike visual sense . A telephone number of crack are unorthodox , find out original ways to make the familiar unfamiliar and the everyday mundane seem sinister . " -Sarah Bea Milner - Screen Rant ’s John and the Hole Review
The 2010s was an first-class time for psychological thrillers , and many incredible dismissal have fall under the radar and merit more attention .
How The John And The Hole Ending Was Received
Most Critics & Audiences Were Bewildered By The End
Film Festival Recognition
2021
Deauville American Film Festival
Prix de la Révélation
Strasbourg European Fantastic Film Festival
Crossovers Prize
Critics were not in love withJohn and the Hole , and it only has a 60 % fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes . The audience was rough , with a 27 % lousy sexual conquest on Rotten Tomatoes . The audience followup were full of people who state the ending made no sense and did n’t pay off anything , with even middling followup complaining that the closing lacked " perceptiveness . " critic were kinder , and not all review were big , and A.A. Dowd ofAV Clubappreciated what the finish revealed about life itself .
" By the meter Sisto and Giacobone bring out a metatextual element that drives home the disquieting thesis of Anna ’s talk with her son , John And The Holehas break itself to be a film about the impossibility of that transition , whether it ’s gradual or harshly sudden . We ’re all just kids playing at adulthood . "
Peter Debruge ofVarietyagrees that the conclusion is what really stool the motion picture special . " It’scalculated and accurate and meticulously constructed in a path that will be of considerable pursuit to audiences who appreciate stories that faze , and those who recognize the preciseness of Sisto ’s approach shot … Now that the picture has put the idea out into the world , what ’s to stop any shaver from overthrowing his or her parent ? "
As noted though , not everyone loved theJohn and the Holeending . Brian Tallerico fromRogerEbert.comwrote , " The result is an experimentation in blank affect and fractured domesticity that drags itself to a disappointing ending , one that only corroborate it never really had anything on its mind . " While some appreciate the message thatJohn and the Holewas try on to tell , others never seemed to connect all the dots .
John and the HoleKey Facts Breakdown
Worldwide Box Office
$ 25.386
Rotten Tomatoes Critics Score
60 %
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score
27 %
Your Rating
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Cast
John and the Hole is a psychological thriller directed by Pascual Sisto . The picture show postdate a young boy distinguish John , portrayed by Charlie Shotwell , who attain an unused bunker near his family dwelling house . John traps his family line inside the bunker as he essay to understand newfound feelings of independence and control . The film also stars Michael C. Hall , Taissa Farmiga , and Jennifer Ehle .
