WEAPONS is unfortunate

First off, a nitpick purge: it's not structured like magnolia.

  I can see wisps of its inspiration (ensemble cast, hyperlink, dopey cop with a mustache, "what do kids know?") but the comparison to its structure, specifically, makes me wonder if people have... actually...seen magnolia...recently...?

  Multiple times throughout Weapons the narrative restarts in a non-linear fashion, featuring alternate scenes based on differing perspectives.

  magnolia is, in the humble opinion of this narrator, the opposite:

Strictly linear, no narrative restarts, no alternate scenes playing out multiple times.

  I will contend that I got huge Frank and Earl vibes when Archer was crying by his son's bedside and it was just as moving. That's a lie: I would have found it moving if I could have fucking seen what was happening.

  I don't love how the rest of the movie looks but, holy God, the lack of lighting and color during night/dark indoor scenes is unforgivable. That lifeless muck retroactively tarnishes anything I do like about the script, performances, etc., which is quite a bit. It has such a great set-up, an incredible villain, a climax for the ages, outstanding tonal shifts, and a devastating ending that negates any clean narratives about trauma.

  Putting Alex's chapter after everyone else's makes for a more effective climax. We spend so much time navigating comedy and horror that Alex's domestic drama feels like a funeral for any of the 'fun' we were having. So by the time Gladys is screaming through the neighborhood pursued by killer kids, it's fucking satisfying. Which, in turn, makes the ending such a stroke of genius: Cregger pleases the crowd but then asks if it's enough and immediately tells us it isn't. And he makes us sit with that.

  But, again, I can't give him too much credit because I only like these choices on paper. As Mike Stoklasa put it, with a joke I'm very jealous of, "Zach Cregger achieved night-for-night." There's little value to Weapons' aesthetic choices.

  In an ironic twist, the most effective scare (and the most lasting image) was an accident. From an interview with make-up artist Leo Satkovich:

"It was through a routine touchup that the lit-up scene came about: Filmed onstage in a tiny room, the goal was to utilize VFX overlay so Matthew could seamlessly transition into Gladys, meaning the two performers had to be tucked into the bed’s blankets just so. After nailing Madigan’s position, Satkovich went in to add more lipstick.

'I’m crawling over lights, crawling under lights, under flags. There’s so much stuff in this room … And I couldn’t see because the room was [so dark]. I think it was a grip that used their iPhone light,' he recalls. 'When DP Larkin Seiple reacted, everyone’s first thought was trouble, but he and the VFX team liked the look, and the shot stayed'."

   Lol at "I couldn't see" but wow, who knew? Who knew that LIGHTING would be a good thing?? Go figure. Actually, no, that's not enough: seeing what's happening shouldn't be the baseline. It should be lit with purpose, it should be artful and creative, not merely visible.

  So Now Then

  There are stories of coincidence and chance and intersections and strange things told. Maybe that iPhone light wasn't an accident.