Intrusion Review: Freida Pinto As A Wife Struggling With Strange House Intrusions | La Recensione

Cast: Freida Pinto, Logan Marshall-Green, Robert John Burke

Director: Adam Salky

Streaming Platform: Netflix

Ratings: 2.5/5 (two and half stars) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

As we begin our Intrusion review, the new thriller available on Netflix, we cannot help but wonder if it is legitimate to be satisfied with more and more of the bare minimum when watching a movie. Especially in a genre, capable of thrilling the viewer thanks to twists, mysteries to be solved and unpredictable solutions, which requires a certain amount of originality in the writing and, in the absence of this, at least some effective visual idea (on the other hand we are while still talking about cinema and television, an audiovisual language that strengthens the story through images). We know well that we must not fall into the error of thinking of each work as unique or extraordinary of its kind compared to what has already been seen in the past to be successful, but, precisely because of the large amount of content present in streaming platforms, it would be good to pay pay attention to real products such as Intrusion, which seem not only to satisfy the public’s taste, but also to want to lower it.

Intrusion Review: The Story

After twelve years of marriage, Henry and Meera decide to move from Boston in search of a more secluded and quiet place. She is a psychologist who has defeated cancer, he is a precise and rational architect who has built the house of dreams, where they are going to live. A house that looks like a masterpiece of architecture, modern, huge, furnished with all the trimmings. Returning from a romantic evening, the couple find the house turned upside down. Even if nothing was stolen, someone broke into their home, bypassing all security and alarm systems. It will be just the beginning. Intrusions become more frequent, breaking the happy home life of the couple and, above all, mutual trust. The story will fit into a case of a missing young girl and Meera will begin to have doubts about her husband’s behavior.

An investigation will begin parallel to that of the police by Meera to silence her paranoia and finally find the serenity she so desired. From this point of view, the intrusion of the title has a double function: on the one hand it is found in the most physical and tangible event, of strangers who manage to enter the house in the middle of the night; on the other, overturning the perspective of the classic on the one hand it is found in the most physical and tangible event, of strangers who manage to enter the house in the middle of the night; on the other, overturning the perspective of the classic on the one hand it is found in the most physical and tangible event, of strangers who manage to enter the house in the middle of the night; on the other, overturning the perspective of the classic home invasion , it is an intellectual process, the constant thought that Meera does not give peace to and that will push her to discover the truth.

Review and Analysis

These interesting insights remain, however, only on the surface, like sparks unable to unleash the true flame. This is the first of a series of writing problems that undermine not so much the pleasure of viewing (the film has rhythm and, in some way, is capable of getting the viewer to the end credits), as the depth and quality of what is being told. We can overlook some aspects, especially related to the way in which the characters are presented and described, how they think and how they behave, which make the plot predictable from the beginning of the film, so much so that it is unable to surprise the viewer. In the stories related to a mystery to be solved it is known that there are two fundamental questions and the attention paid to one or the other changes the narrative focus of the story.

You can focus on the identity of the person who committed the crime, but you can also take the answer for granted and focus, instead, on the motives, on why the aforementioned character acted in that way. In Intrusion, the identity of the villain is quickly guessed due to how the suspect acts (let’s face it: we have seen too many films of this genre to be surprised), but it is precisely the motivations that leave us dumbfounded. The third act, when the threads of the story are re-tied, or rather are revealed, is so exaggerated and superficial as to be difficult to digest. It is precisely in these last moments of the film that we realize how the writing, during the film, has remained on the surface of things, without wanting to go deeper, taking an interest in a story of pure narration of events,

It does not help an over the top acting that is really exaggerated in the closing moments of the film, especially by Logan Marshall-Green (while Freida Pinto remains as much as possible in a rather flat register, but even in this case, it must be emphasized, it is a character writing problem), which collapses the foundations of this house made film. Like the house where the protagonists live, Intrusion seems to have nothing wrong at first glance. Yet this apparent perfection hides a heartless craft, cold as ice or like the mind of the architect who built that house. There are very few ideas that would give the film that greater belonging to the audiovisual world as a story in images. Except for a very brief virtuosity in which the camera becomes unbalanced, there is a certain amount of laziness in the direction of Adam Salky who prefers, even at a photographic level, a clarity of a television type, perhaps all too anonymous. The joke usually linked to a judgment on cities “Beautiful, but I wouldn’t live there” seems perfect to describe the house of the protagonists and, consequently, the film itself seen and already forgotten.

Intrusion Review: The Final Verdict

At the conclusion of our review of Intrusion we cannot be satisfied with a thriller-style film that features superficial writing, predictable twists, anonymous staging and acting, especially in the third act, really over the top. Let’s be clear, somehow this television product manages to keep the viewer up to the end credits, but without being really exciting, engaging and already forgotten once you leave the streaming platform.

What Worked

• The rhythm of the film manages to hold the viewer until the end credits.

What Didn’t Worked

• The flat, superficial writing makes the story first predictable and later exaggerated.
• The anonymous direction flattens everything by allocating the product to an all-too-televised dimension.
• The acting over the top, especially in the third act.