Cristian Mungiu's Palme d'Or-winning abortion drama 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days is a harrowing, emotionally-draining experience. The minimalist, neorealist filmmaking wrenches the viewer's stomach tighter and tighter as the story builds, in real-time, to its devastating finale. The audience waits in breathless anticipation and trepidation throughout the entire two hours. Much of the power stems from Anamaria Marinca's gripping, tour-de-force performance. She is fully entrenched in her character, in all her moments of controlled anger and suffocating fear. Not only do we believe her, but we understand her. We see someone willing to do anything for a friend and we would like to say that we would do the same.The remainder of the film's power is evoked through an unflinching and uncompromising camera. Long, patient, brilliantly-composed shots coax a gamut of genuine emotions out of the actors. There is one scene in particular where we witness a disgusting, vile act--not through the lens of the camera, but through the reactions of the characters. As we slowly realize what has happened, we cannot help but recoil in horror: at the extent of human depravity, at the ease with which people can take advantage of others' vulnerabilities. It is a reminder that injustice is everywhere, that mistakes we make don't always have a fair price.
Ultimately, this is not a perfect movie. The beginning does not effectively engage the audience. A heavy seriousness in the first scene makes the mood appear more important than the characters and their motivations. The editing in the final 30 minutes started to sag and loosen, allowing the movie to stray into the overlong and the unrelated. A number of shots were too dark for the audience to see what was going on. But none of these problems should stop you from seeing this mature work of art. It is a bleak and depressing portrait of a time and place we desperately wish would disappear. It is hopeless, but sometimes we need these films to help us discover the hope within our own lives.
IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt1032846/