Movie - 10 Cloverfield Lane

Note:  There may be minor spoilers throughout, but I will only limit them to what is absolutely necessary.

     10 Cloverfield Lane is a "spiritual successor" to the movie Cloverfield.  Having seen both films, I do sort of get why they say this, but the two movies couldn't really be any more different other than some thematic elements.  Whereas Cloverfield was a "monster" movie in the traditional sense, i.e. Godzilla, this film was a "monster" movie in a different sense.  The monster in this film comes in the form of paranoia, fear of the unknown, fear of others, etc.  I would really say that is where the comparisons between the two films end, and if you are going into this movie expecting more of what you saw in Cloverfield, then I'm afraid you will be terribly disappointed.
     The premise of the movie is that the lead character, Michelle, gets into a car accident, and wakes up in a bomb shelter/basement, chained to the wall.  We don't know really anything about Michelle other than that she was leaving her fiancé because of a fight.  So we are set up with only a few details when we see Howard come in to check on Michelle, and briefly explains that he found her on the side of the road after her accident and that he saved her life.  He then explains that there was some sort of attack, and that everyone else is dead.  They are safe because they are in his shelter that he built in case anything like this were to ever happen.  We also shortly thereafter find out that there is another man down there with them, named Emmett.  Emmett offers up that he is there by choice, and that he helped Howard build the shelter in case of an emergency.
     To give any more away than that would really be a disservice to anyone who plans on watching the film, and so I will not give any more details of the plot away.  I think that the less you know about the movie, the better the watching experience will be, because it is meant to make you wonder the entire time just what is going on.  The best parts of the film are when you are trying to figure out if what Howard is saying is true, or if it is all elaborated by a clearly troubled man who just thinks that something terrible happened above ground.
     The acting and the writing in the movie are absolutely top notch.  John Goodman is frightening at times, and endearing at times, but always the center of attention when he is in a scene.  I would expect no less from Mr. Goodman, as I have always been a big fan, and he leaves nothing on the table with his performance of Howard.  Mary Elizabeth Winstead also does a wonderful job of portraying Michelle as a frightened, but resourceful protagonist, that you can't help but route for throughout the entire movie, whether you know if you are pulling for her for the right reasons or not.  Finally, John Gallagher Jr. does a fine job as Emmett, but his character is not the main focus, and smartly, the film makers only have him do what he needs to do, and not try to force the character to be more than he is.  The dynamic and chemistry between the three characters is on full display, and it's hard to find a cast of characters that are more in sync with each other and make each other better with their individual performances.
     However, it's not all about the performances and the writing.  To have a truly great film, all of the pieces need to be in place, and unfortunately, the lasting impressions are very important.  This means that the ending needs to be as strong as everything else, and that is where 10 Cloverfield Lane comes up short.  There will be people that love the ending, and there will be people that hate the ending, and I personally think that both sides have a legitimate argument for either that love or hate.  I fall in the middle a bit, as I didn't really like the ending, but I applaud the film makers for really going for it and doing something different.  In the interest of not trying to ruin anything, I will leave it at that, but after you see the movie, you will fully understand what I mean.
     I wanted to love this movie, and for the most part I did, but I feel that what could have been a truly great movie fell short in the end.  I loved the performances, the writing, and the ever present feeling of suspense and paranoia that seeped into every scene, but the ending just kept the movie from really being something special.  Overall, I still think the movie was very good, and if nothing else, to see John Goodman's performance is worth seeing the movie, but I would warn that you should go in with a little bit of caution, and expect the ending to not turn out like you think it is going to.  I guess if you have seen all the comparisons and references to Cloverfield in all of the marketing of this movie, you already expect the ending to be outside of the norm.  You will definitely get that from this film, but as the saying goes, just be careful what you wish for, cause you just might get it.

My rating for the film is 7.5/10