I just finished watching this independent movie called Ink (2009) today via Netflix Instant Watch. I sort of have to rant on the movie a little because I really liked the potential and the design of the movie, but I kept going back to how badly the melodrama got sometimes.
It’s this sci-fi movie about two factions who are in a constant struggle for power. Essentially there are those who give us good dreams and those who give us nightmares. Why it was so important, I’m not entirely sure, but essentially, a little girl, Emma, is kidnapped by a character named Ink to be delivered to the nightmare givers and this movie is about her rescue.
What first caught my eye was the poster which was very reminiscent of Elijah Wood’s character from Sin City. Watching the trailer, I was immediately intrigued by the character design and I definitely was looking forward to watching it, but even the trailer had a sort of cheesy, over the top feel to it which I was hoping was just due to a bad trailer, but turns out, not the case. It was the whole movie that was trying too hard to be dramatic, too hard to be funny at times.
It’s not that I didn’t like the movie (even though I can’t say I understood it 100% by the end). There were a lot of creative ideas here. Visually, I thought it was fantastic, especially for the budget. It had a dystopian vibe to it that I’m keen on. The fight scenes and the first half of the film where Emma gets kidnapped are amazing and I was enjoying it. But then came the character development and while I still did feel invested in the movie, I was being pushed away by the melodrama.
Throughout that time, I kept think how great this would’ve been if it was a graphic novel because the words felt lifted straight out of a book or something. Dialogue that would sound greater read than heard. I think I would even love this as a TV show, giving us more time to be invested in these characters and perhaps I could forgive some of the cheesy lines because I would see where the characters come from.
To me, this movie had potential to be something amazing, but borderlines on good for its premise. I still think people should see it since it’s easily available on Netflix Instant Watch and it’s one of the more creative independent films out there.
