Vivarium movie review by Movie Review Mom

MOVIE TITLE:  Vivarium

RATING:  R

LENGTH:    1 hour, 37 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE:   B

IN A NUTSHELL:

The movie starts with a nesting bird feeding its newborn babies.  That sounds simple enough, yet the young couple in the film who try to do the same thing with their lives get caught in a mysterious sci-fiction horror that holds many cynical metaphors about life and society.

It might provide some very interesting insights as we’re currently in a stand-still in our lives due to the Coronavirus pandemic.  Unfortunately, like all of us under quarantine, this film just doesn’t go anywhere…that is unless you really examine what life is and how you are spending your numbered days here on this planet.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

• Some profanity, including F-bombs.
• Some people flip the bird.
• You see a couple in bed moving around with sound effects.
• You see someone sitting on a toilet.
• Parents can learn an insightful lesson about how the little boy parrots everything he hears the adults say.  Later, you see a naked side profile of a woman in bed.
• Some attempts at violence.
• Children will be very bored.  So will some adults.

THEMES:

• Life
• Hopelessness
• Things that matter in life, where we spend our time.
• Parenting
• What is a home?
• What is a mother?
• Love, relationships

THINGS I LIKED:

• Jesse Eisenberg and Imogen Poots are fantastic together. This is their second collaboration since The Art of Self-Defense in 2019.
• Martin, the subdivision salesman, is perfectly quirky, creepy, and odd to set the tone for the movie in the beginning.
• The TV metaphor was particularly interesting.
• Music lovers will appreciate the message that sound and music illustrate in the movie.
• At first, I didn’t think it made sense that, for an elementary school teacher, Gemma handled the young boy horribly.  Then, as I thought about it, it made me think that we are often kind to strangers and others around us, but we give less energy and love to our own family.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

• It’s very slow-burning.
• There is a lot to think about here.  Don’t let yourself go down the rat-hole into depression thinking that life is worthless and devoid of meaning.  I wish that the movie had showed a few more aspects of life that really do give us purpose.

INTERESTING LINES:

• “Memories will be made in the ample spaces between these walls.” – Martin (Jonathan Aris)
• “Raise the child and be released.” – written on a box
• “People like to be alone sometimes, not be with each other, you know?” – Gemma (Imogen Poots)
• “Why are you being polite? Is it fear?” – Older boy  (Eanna Hardwicke)
• “I kind of felt like I was home because of you.” –  Tom  (Jesse Eisenberg)
• “You’re home right now.” – billboard

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@TrinaBoice