Fantasia 2019 Review: THE ART OF AUTOMOTIVE DEFENSE launches a punch to toxic masculinity



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You see a lot of masculinity on the screen. A lot a lot. It's usually celebrated, whether it's action scenes or stoic dramas at the other. Recently, we've seen the dissected concept a little more frequently – but never before so hilarious. In The art of defending yourself, Defaults Writer-director Riley Stearns lovingly created an extremely absurd satire of toxic masculinity. Small but perfectly formed, this is one of the funniest movies of the year, right in the heart of the neo-misogyny of the YouTube era.

Jesse Eisenberg embodies Casey Davies, a skinny accountant, owner of Dachshund, who has a problem of masculinity. Specifically, he has none, but he desperately wants to, especially after a bunch of motorcyclists have beaten him almost to death. In order to plaster his trauma and assert himself, he enrolled in a karate school – but the enigmatic Sensei (Alessandro Nivola) could push him further than he did. ;planned.

In a few minutes, it becomes clear that The art of defending yourself does not really happen in our world. It takes place in a world that is even more hyper-masculinized than ours: radio shows regularly suggest to carry weapons, men's magazines are simple catalogs of photos of breasts and an answering machine exasperated by their owners. Stearns 'dialogue often intentionally over-explains the characters' thought processes, exposing their ridiculous inherence, and his camera is withdrawn as a discreet observer. It's fantastic.

This continues in the karate school, where the film's essentials unfold. The art of defending yourself paints a deliberately caricatural picture of karate and its culture, amplifying its sense of self-importance and respect for hand-to-hand violence. Casey's journey through the school – the yellow belt, the second lowest level, around which he builds his new identity with obsession – is hilarious and sad, in that men who buy bulk lots of pills for enlarge the penis are hilarious and sad. His over-correction of masculinity makes him an equally awkward version of his mirror at a time. He is so manly that he refuses to pet his dog, lest he become too "pampered".

"The pain, that's the weakness that leaves the body" has nothing to do with the machismo bullshit found here.

As the film progresses, the comedy darkens considerably. The developments in history are pushing the tone towards a much more frenetic and wild focus of toxic masculinity than the first half of fun suggests. Although the twists are not necessarily shocking – and do not really surprise the characters, deep down, they are extremely uncomfortable to watch. We laugh though we wriggled while Casey started (with Sensei's encouragement) to lose control of his emotions. For those who are familiar with the jargon of men's rights, the jokes are numerous at the expense of their worldview.

No such nuanced comedy could succeed without absolute constancy in the cast, and Stearns directs his actors to subtle and consistently excellent comic performances. Eisenberg perhaps uses the best of his nerdy physique here, amplifying both Casey's initial shyness and the ridiculous and terrifying character of his more masculine self. Imogen Poots, as the only female member of the karate class, communicates fierce compassion under her callous exterior of machismo. And Nivola, in a magnificent impasse, is just as magnetic and disgusting as the charismatic asshole Sensei. The entire cast, from main roles to pieces, is on the same page, which helps the script to sing.

Many people have compared The art of defending yourself at Fight Cluband it's easy to see the similarities on the surface. Both follow Dweeby's office slaves all the way to male self-actualization. Both have very violent secret clubs with strict rules. Neither has more than one notable female character. But where Fight Club victim of his own indulgence in the very ideas he tries to grapple with, The art of defending yourself remains focused on its thematic mission. Dudebros will not defend this film as a celebration of human culture; each scene openly mocks or illustrates it specifically as destructive. In addition, the violence in the film is aimed specifically at the defenseless or near-defenseless. For a karate-oriented movie, there's not really a lot of fighting – just shots – and it's better.

Everyone will not be so strong The art of defending yourself as I did it. Sometimes it's a deeply strange film, and viewers who insist on credible motivations have nothing to expect. But this film exists in a state of exacerbated absurdity – in order to deliver at once its terrible jokes and its comments on the strength, the weakness and the perception of it. He'll hit your face and only laughter will burst.

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