The only people who have bomb shelters and doomsday vaults
are the conspiracy-nut kooks, right? So, when the apocalypse hits, which it
inevitably will, all the normal people will be dead and only the bomb shelter
kooks will be left alive, right? That’s the premise of
10 Cloverfield Lane. John Goodman
masterfully realizes his paranoid rube, kidnapping, but also pretending to
protect his captors. As an audience, it really makes you want the characters to
try their luck on the outside world rather than deal with this nutball.
Besides, was there even an apocalypse? How can you be sure if you’re not even
allowed to look out a window? The pressure builds and the suspense piles on as
the small cast of characters philosophically speculate over the fate of the
world.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead is strong here; resourceful and not the least
bit victimy. Credit goes to the writer (Dan Casey) for straying from female
victim stereotypes. It’s a big, satisfying ending, thankfully not too J.J.
Abramsy, who seems to be intent on jerking his audiences around lately with a
lot of questions and cliffhangers. It suffices to say: there’s answers.
