Rating of
2.5/4
Demolish Expectations
Unknown - wrote on 05/11/16
'Demolition' is an unconventional drama/character study of one man's odd methods in coping with the loss of his wife. It's established early on that their relationship wasn't the most deep or meaningful, but it was far from being considered a failure. The central conceit of the story is present in the title - our main character becomes numb to his lost love and has to figuratively deconstruct his marriage by literally deconstructing everything around him. The metaphor is plain and simple, but that doesn't make it not worth understanding. The absence of grief after a traumatic experience is where the film starts. From here the story takes odd shifts; having him form relationships with other characters outside of this dilemma and revealing some surprising secrets much further on. It's hard to pin down a tone with the comedy juxtaposed to the wavering drama. Not until later in the third act do we get some emotional insight. The ending is really nice because of this. I just feel it took too long to reach that level of investment. There are interesting scenes, some laughs, and good performances all-around. It didn't quite come together smoothly, as a whole.
