The Weekend Away

I was interested right away when I saw the trailer, then when it came out and I saw the reviews, I was like nah, maybe not. I put it off for months. Finally I said screw it.

It kept my interest from the start. Didn't know who did what or what happened or why. There was a few different stories within the main one which I also enjoyed. The acting from the lead was fine, not great but maybe it was just the film. However, all the other actors I found to be very good. I found it to keep my attention the entire movie, which is not easy to do these days. There are so many suspects and how that is was even great. Was it GREAT? Not really LOL, but very worth the watch. I say go for it if you want a generally fun who done it.

Nothing special, nothing the least bit original, nothing rememberable, made for T. V type script and dialogue. Basically just like 95% of every other film released the past few years.

Apart from its lovely Croatian setting, the best parts of The Weekend Away include a pretty good showing from Leighton Meester and an intriguing first act. About one-thirds in, I realized that this would be nothing more than a formulaic thriller sans any deeper narrative arcs. And the film didn't attempt anything to prove me wrong. It uses the same tropes as a dozen similar murder-mystery thrillers before it. Some of them include adultery and voyeurism angles, a stranger who's unflinchingly ready to help, and a couple of throwaway twists. Where the film utterly fails is in showcasing the friendship between the protagonist and the murdered woman, not giving us enough material to even consider a deeper, more psychologically driven angle. The Weekend Away seems content sticking to its barebones, neither giving Meester a worthwhile outing nor being a pulpy little mystery.

Whilst it may take a little time to get into, The Weekend Away does have an interesting plot. It's a mystery that isn't packed full of twists and turns, as every character who appears to be suspicious at first glance remains suspicious throughout. First impressions count for a lot, but the film is still without predictability towards the finale, allowing at least one major twist to be enjoyed.

Some lines of dialogue are daft, and some actions completely illogical, but ultimately the plot is solid. Bakri is impressive in his role, and in general the acting throughout is relatively commendable.

It was actually decent and entertaining up until the last 30 mins. It was an unbelievably anticlimactic and dumb way to end a story line which could have been so much better.