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Cult Review
Senior Film Conservator
If you have a thing for vintage circus melodrama, you’ll probably find something to love here. If you’re looking for a tight, modern thriller, stay away. This one moves at its own speed and doesn't care if you're bored.
Mona is the heart of a trapeze act near Chicago. Being in a circus sounds romantic, but mostly it looks like a lot of sweaty work and people yelling at each other in tents. 🎪
The stunts. Man, they really try to sell the height. There’s a specific shot where the camera looks down from the rafters and it makes my stomach do a little backflip. It’s not fancy CGI, just a long drop and a lot of trust.
The pacing is a bit weird. One minute they are having a quiet conversation about their feelings, and the next, someone is almost plummeting to their doom. It feels a bit like Air Eagles in how it balances the danger with the mundane stuff.
Elisabeth Frisk is doing a lot of heavy lifting here with her eyes. She’s got that look of someone who is one bad swing away from a disaster. You believe her when she says she's tired.
There’s a weird tangent about midway through involving a side character that felt like it belonged in a different movie entirely. It drags. I almost reached for my phone, but then they climbed back up on the platform and I was hooked again.
It’s not a masterpiece. It feels a little dusty, like something you’d find on a shelf that hasn't been touched in years. But there’s a soul to it that you don't get in movies today. It reminds me a bit of the grit in Rebuilding Broken Lives, just with more spandex.
If you don't mind a movie that feels like a fading photograph, give it a shot. Just don't expect to have your life changed.