Movie Review: Mammoth

Gael Garcia Bernal & Michelle Williams portray a husband and wife in Mammoth who due to too much money and not enough have seemed to have lost perspective in their lives. This all changes in the unravelling of the film as Bernal takes a business trip to Thailand and realizes how sheltered and selfishly blind Americans can be to the realities and cruelties that face many people in developing nations. Williams has her own awakening back in New York as she struggles to balance her hectic life as a mother and a surgeon.

Overall the film relays a powerful message and sheds light on heavy topics like sex trafficking, child prostitution, materialism, and the western view of instant gratification. As a film overall, it is shot well, but the timing comes off as lagging. As an audience member, you want to push it along, and help it reach the point Swedish writer/director Lukas Moodysson is trying to make. I gave major points for the soundtrack, and Bernal as in most cases does a great job on the screen.

The film came out in limited release in NYC after premiering in the US at the Hamptons International Film Festival. Check out the trailer below: