I’d say it’s a pretty general phenomenon. Expertise and entitled consumption of it as a service. Even in a professional setting, with a service/support dynamic, it can be abused through entitlement pretty often.

I wish i could put a finger on what the movie was missing.

Yep. That’s the thing … It’s hard to work out, but I think there’s something missing from Eggers. Like he needs to work with a few great writers just learn some master craftsperson skills.

Interesting! I haven’t seen Murnau’s, but Herzog’s and Coppola’s (if that counts). Interestingly, I don’t remember much of Herzog’s at all apart from enjoying Kinski.

Which forces me to wonder if it isn’t that great a story, or at least not worth remaking. I’m not convinced that the whole “he’s coming” thing, after having literally been in his castle for a whole sequence, really works. I think in the three tellings of the story I’ve seen (including Eggers’), I’ve probably felt a let down from that structure.

Good Will Hunting comes to mind as one that hasn’t already been mentioned.

As one of his non comedic roles, I’d say he kills it and kinda steals the show.

Let me know what you think of it!

Sometimes it slipped a little into a parody of the original

Yea, there was definitely a ridiculousness to the tone at times. I read one critic say that they thought they could hear Eggers laughing in joy behind the camera.

It certainly is effective! Interesting that you found the castle sequence to drag! For me it captured a heightened but still realistic/grounded horror feeling very well. Like I could imagine being in that situation and just believing that you’re having bad dreams when really you’re in a demonic lair, with that realisation haunting you in the periphery of your mind.

“Feeling” long is a good way of capturing what I’m saying I think. Thanks! The way I put it to someone else was that it lost its momentum too easily and readily and too often. To the point where it feels like a once over in the writing or editing could probably elevate the whole film.

I hear you and essentially don’t disagree. But I feel like this might lean a tad toward gaslighting.

• Plenty of people are fine communicators when it comes to genuine collaborative work but still find the “game” of job applications very difficult or impossible.
• Being left alone with a customer is not a thing at all for many roles.
• Embracing diversity in abilities and doing so transparently is a thing that can be valuable for both companies and humanity. Presuming everyone can do all the things is, IMO/IME, damaging. It leads to cutting out people who have something valuable to offer. But also leads to not recognising when people are properly bad at something despite the fact that they really shouldn’t be given their seniority and role.

In the end, a job application/interview is not like the job at all (whether necessarily or not). That there are people in the world who would be disproportionately good at the job but bad the application seems to me an empirical fact given the diversity of humanity. And recognising this seems important and valuable in general but especially for those trying to understand their relationship to the system.