Soul
Might contain spoilers.
A lovely movie, replete with poignant and stirring moments. The resolution doesn’t quite feel right, but this isn’t the kind of story whose weight rests entirely on its climax—what matters, as it takes great pains to tell us, is the journey.
The exaggerated character designs don’t suit the astonishingly photorealistic settings at all. On the other hand, the abstract designs in the afterlife are fantastic, especially the Jerries and Terries. I’ve only ever seen that style in 2D media before; the way they’re integrated into the 3D animation here is amazing. What’s more, Rachel House, Richard Ayoade, and Alice Braga are perfectly cast in those roles. (Jerry ‘working it out’ with Terry in the end had me in splits.)
As someone who is indifferent towards jazz, I can’t say I’m enamoured of that portion of the music, but (what I presume is) Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s score for the afterlife is excellent. The transition from one style to the other when Terry catches 22 and Joe in the subway is sublime. The piano melody that accompanies Joe’s epiphany has a wonderfully simple beauty to it, too.