“What are we doing, here in the world.”
“Trying to be good…be better.”
I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore follows Ruth, a woman deeply unsatisfied with her life (Melanie Lynskey). After her home is burglarized, a locator app pinpoints where the thieves have taken her laptop. At the breaking point for her frustration at life, Ruth sets out to get it back. Joined by her neighbor Tony (Elijah Wood), her quest takes her on a journey that changes her entire outlook and how she interacts with the world.
I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore is a quality portrayal of a woman whose life feels devoid of any meaning or direction, who ultimately finds that direction in the wake of a traumatic event in her life. Ruth begins the film unsure of whether anything matters at all, if people are destined to be anything more than just footnotes in time, passing through life a generation at a time. Her journey toward revenge and resulting connection with Tony give her some semblance of goodness in a world that had turned her cynical, despite the land mines she encounters along the way.
Lynskey gives a great performance displaying a person disappointed in the world around her that slowly transforms as her new experiences fortify her and make her into a more assertive person. Elijah Wood is great as always as the eccentric but kind Tony, showing why he’s severely underappreciated as one of the best actors of his generation. The two carry the movie through the first two acts through the explosive third act. The film is a solid first time outing for director Mason Blair. It’s well shot and pretty solidly written (he’s the screenwriter on the film as well). The U.S. Grand Jury Prize for drama is nice recognition for any filmmaker’s start; establishing solid ground for him to continue to hone his skill and make a name for himself.
I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore would be worth the price of admission in theaters but the fact that it’s available for home viewing as a Netflix original makes it even more worth the watch. Curl up on the couch and give it a chance.
Image: Netflix
