Suburbicon review by Bobby Blakey

There are a lot of actors that turn their sites to directing with much success and George Clooney is one of the top ones out there. His latest film, Suburbicon looks to be a darker film than normal and brings along a great cast including Matt Damon, Julianne Moore, Noah Jupe and Oscar Isaac, but does it live up to the strange awesomeness of the trailer or will it be a town you should have stayed out of?
Suburbicon follows a peaceful, idyllic suburban community with affordable homes and manicured lawns…the perfect place to raise a family, and in the summer of 1959, the Lodge family is doing just that. But the tranquil surface masks a disturbing reality, as husband and father Gardner Lodge must navigate the town’s dark underbelly of betrayal, deceit, and violence. From the trailers and the involvement of the Cohen brothers I knew that at its worse this film would be something unique and I was not disappointed. I loved this movie from beginning to end. Make no mistake it is strange and in some cases not what I was expecting, but in the best way possible. From the opening sequence you know that this movie is going to be unique and it doesn’t disappoint.
The entire cast are great offering up some fun yet powerful performances with each of them a bit strange and memorable. Damon brings a great uncomfortable menace to the role making it one of his more interesting characters to date. Julianne Moore gets a variety of things to play with thanks to her multidimensional character. Oscar Isaac isn’t here near as much as I had hoped, but he chews up the scenery to perfection making him the most fun to watch. Young Noah Jupe offers up an impressive performance having to showcase the most emotions throughout and holds his own with the entire cast like a pro.
There is no great mystery within this story and you can see from the trailers what the entire plot is or at least you think you do. There are a lot of directions not implied that this film goes that is not in the trailers, but are also are not meant to be any major twists. Instead they allow the powerful performances and story to work its strange magic to get the full impact. Throughout this film is a powerful message of the true horrors in the world and the misguided views most have making this an extremely powerful social commentary that is sadly very relevant today.
The time period setting along with the sets, costuming and great performances helps this film stand out as something unique that is a must see. I can see how some will find it almost too strange for them, but I personally loved every minute of it. In addition to the film this release includes bonus content including commentary and featurettes that take you further behind bringing this unique film to life. Move into the neighborhood and grab your copy of Suburbicon when it hits Digital HD on January 23rd and then on Blu-ray and DVD on February 6th from Paramount Home Entertainment.