Formula: Prisoners + Conviction + About a Boy
This is a beast of a movie to talk about, because no matter how I describe it, it's going to sound like a different kind of movie than it is. You see, Stillwater is about Bill (Matt Damon). He's a blue-collar father from Oklahoma who loves red meat and football. He goes to visit his daughter in Marseilles, France. Hold on, stop what you're thinking. It's not a fish out of water movie. His daughter, Allison (Abigail Breslin), is in jail for killing her Arabic French girlfriend in college. It was an infamous trial and Allison has already served half of her 10-year sentence. She hears about a new lead on her case and wants her lawyer to pursue it to prove her innocence. When her lawyer says it's too late for that, Bill decides to start looking for the real killer himself. Hold on again. It's not a movie about Bill traversing the Marseilles criminal underworld to get justice for his daughter. She actually kind of hates him and he messes things up. While in France though, he meets a theater actress, Virginie (Camille Cottin), with a young daughter, Maya (Lolou Siauvand). Virginie ends up helping Bill with his investigation. Eventually, Bill stays in France and rents Virginie's extra room. He immediately bonds with Maya and falls for Virginie. But wait, this isn't a movie about Bill getting a second chance to be a father the right way.
At this point, you are probably wondering, "Then what the hell is this movie about?" and that's what's tough about this movie. It's all those things above at different points without ever committing to any of them. And it's other stuff too. I could generously say the movie has a lot on its mind or I could less generously call it unfocused. It does need all 2h19m of its runtime, because it covers so much. Ultimately, I was much more interested in the adopted family unit stuff with Virginie and Maya than the murder investigation. His attempts to find the real murderer go in some dark and extreme directions that strained plausibility. Bill is a little too reformed by the time the movie starts, so Allison's anger at him doesn't feel that justified. For example, they saw he wasn't around much while she was growing up, but this whole movie is about how he can't get himself to leave France until she's free. I believe he really was an absent father, but all I ever see is him being around and her being angry at him. The movie has some show vs. tell balance problems like that.
The heart of the movie is Bill's relationship with Maya. Lilou Siauvaud is a top tier "cute kid in a movie" although I think she's helped by the fact that she mainly speaks French. It's hard to really judge line delivery when I'm auto-filling the inflection when I read subtitles. All she has to do is be generally adorable following Bill around. Matt Damon is really sweet with the kid. I love these kinds of unlikely bonds in movies. They don't hit too hard on the idea that this is some kind of do-over for Bill after things went so wrong with Allison, but the way that the movie plays out uses that well toward the end.
One thing I'm a little annoyed by with the movie is how much it's getting called a red state or Trump movie. Bill does have a thick Oklahoma accent. He's very religious and prays earnestly. He carries himself conservatively. The movie never really challenges a presumably liberal target audience to like a MAGA person though. Bill lacks the red hat or any of the traditional talking points. He never seems that phased by having a lesbian daughter. He never actually expresses any negative or pointed opinions about Mexicans/illegal immigrants. He pleads ignorance rather than opposition to liberal stances on things. He loves to point out that he's not smart enough to understand things rather than dismiss their value. He mentions that he owns two guns back home, but since he's hanging out in a foreign country, his gun-positive opinions are more abstract than present. I found almost nothing challenging about rooting for Bill. The people who are surprised by this seem to be saying, "I never knew a Christian with a southern accent who eats meat could be likable". It's weirdly telling. That's a criticism of how people are watching the movie though, not of the content of the movie. The movie actually fleshes Bill out into a well-rounded character.
Director Tom McCarthy along with his co-writers shoot really high with Stillwater. It's a movie that balances numerous narratives, themes, and discussions all at once. Unfortunately, this is a movie with a slim margin for error. Missing the mark even a little results in a movie that feels unfocused and a little empty. Sadly, Stillwater misses the mark, although not by a lot. The performances are pretty wonderful. There are several standout moments of tension, sadness, and catharsis throughout the movie. A lot more of it works than doesn't. A lot of it is ill-fitting though, like they couldn't decide what movie they were actually trying to make.
Verdict: Weakly Recommend
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