Everything Will Be OK Movie Review from The Massie Twins

From giant fish heads to deformed birds to manatees attacking cities, the bizarre and the unexplainable all frequent the films of Don Herzfeldt. In his most artistic and abstract film, (winning the Sundance Film Festival’s Short Filmmaking Award) Everything Will Be OK, he channels his fevered genius into the story of Bill, a man lost in the exasperation of existence.

The film is narrated completely by Bill, a lonely and exhausted man who walks through a parking lot, chats with neighbors, grocery store clerks and his ex-girlfriend - but mostly he contemplates his chaotic dreams and the hallucinations he kids himself he doesn’t have. Chronicling several days in his life, from his preoccupation with death to his recovery in a hospital, Everything Will Be OK promises just that.

I have a theory about opera music; and that is that tying any operatic pieces to a film magically and automatically makes it more poignant, thought-provoking and deep. Herzfeldt does this with masterly care and it makes the most awkward and dissonant moments more dramatic and powerful. From Bill gazing at a torn plastic bag flapping in the breeze on the end of a broken pole, to quietly sucking blood from the corner of a sore in his mouth, the calming sounds of opera voices grants us time to take in his abstract visions and actions and appreciate them as art. But is it art?

Occasionally, or perhaps frequently, the images and voices that narrate the few days in Bill’s life are so disjointed, so appallingly random, and most of all shockingly off-putting that the average viewer might not find the meaning behind it all. And perhaps this is what Herzfeldt wanted. Regardless of the hidden themes and purposeful hectic imagery, humor is always prevalent in Everything Will Be OK. Whether or not that humor is your cup of tea is really dependent on how much humor you unearth from the morbidity of death, mental sickness and the monotony of life. The sporadic nature of his jokes, from Bill dreaming of throwing dead bodies out of a tiny boat to his experiencing the sudden inability to control his bladder, is oftentimes enough to jolt a giggle from the audience. At other times, the dire seriousness of attacking his mother or having his own thoughts drowned out by stinging voices in his mind, are enough to reattach ourselves to the realities Herzfeldt portrays.

The animation Herzfeldt uses is the kind that wobbles and wiggles onscreen, due to the individual drawings not lining up completely. The character designs themselves are ridiculously simple, practically to the point of stick figures, but this gives the artist time to concentrate on the creative aspects of his animation. Using black and white masks to reveal only portions of the screen, mostly off-centered or with multiple windows of activities occurring simultaneously, Everything Will Be OK unfolds at a fast pace and presents much of the confusion Bill experiences just as chaotically for the audience. The simplicity of the art itself aids the idea that the story is universally approachable, although not necessarily universally coherent.

Commenting on the themes of life, death, mental deterioration and the repetition of dull everyday life, Bill’s adventures, which cover seemingly unadventurous events, sees him journey from one average day through to the brink of extinction, and then back again to the sameness he may never be content with. The final scene in which he rides a bus in the rain once again slows with the introduction of serene opera voices, which leaves us, whether understanding his journey or not, with a sense of satisfaction.

- Mike Massie


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