April 30, 2024

“Those Who Wish Me Dead”: A riveting new thriller

Hannah and Connor jump into a stream to avoid being killed by the raging forest fire. This scene showed how Hannah and Connor had to work quickly and cognitively to avoid the fire and assassins. Photo Courtesy of variety.com

By Aiden Silver

Staff Writer

The new film, “Those Who Wish me Dead,” This drama/thriller keeps you on the edge of your seat as each scene throws more chaos and twists on the screen. 

From start to finish the direction of the movie is completely unpredictable, making the viewing experience much more realistic and enhancing. The directing and screenwriting work also help bring out more thrills, including raging fires and heart-rate increasing scenes of fighting, throughout the film. With these factors in play, “Those Who Wish me Dead,” is a great modern thriller.

Released on May 14, “Those Who Wish Me Dead” was released by Warner Bros. It  stars Angelina Jolie as Hannah Faber, Nicholas Hoult as Patrick, John Bernthal as Ethan Sawyer, and Finn Little as Connor Casserly. 

The movie primarily follows a father, Owen, and son, Connor, who are attempting to evade assassins, who wish to silence him about the large-scale embezzlement Owen discovered. Unfortunately, the assassins capture and kill Owen, which leaves Connor on a thrilling adventure as he escapes from professional hitmen. 

One of the most interesting pieces of the movie was the unpredictability of the plot. This made the film more thrilling and enjoyable for first time viewers. The authors of the screenplay, Taylor Sheridan and Charles Leavitt, did an excellent job in creating a suspenseful and entertaining story. 

Taylor Sheridan also proved to be an outstanding director. The shot selection and use of unique camera angles to enhance scenes helped portray the story wonderfully. The use of fast-moving shots made the action scenes feel even more action packed, and also helped increase the feelings of suspense during still shots. 

The color grading done in post production also helped emphasize the emotions shown in each scene. The use of consistent pallets for the various emotions shown in the film helped create a color coded viewing experience that would subconsciously support the actor’s performance. 

The post-production also did a great job with the special effects throughout the entire film. The visual effects team created extremely realistic forest fires that lasted throughout most of the film. The effects made it much easier to focus on the movie, rather than becoming distracted by poorly executed visuals. 

The originality of the screenplay was  a major bonus to this film. The setting, character types, and genre are very rare in any other film. The originality of the film allowed for greater creative freedom for the team because they weren’t trying to imitate anything created previously.

This movie was a very interesting take on a modern day thriller using issues that are relevant to current issues. The movie was able to show forms of corporate corruption as well as present environmental issues.

“Those Who Wish Me Dead” is definitely a must watch for all enjoyers of thrilling movies and/or HBO Max subscribers. Buying an HBO Max subscription just to watch this movie, may not be the greatest decision; however, it adds to the many reasons to purchase an HBO Max subscription.

“ Those Who Wish Me Dead” is rated R and can be seen through HBO Max or in theaters. 

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