Trouble Every Day

Hmm… How to offer a sense of Trouble Every Day without spoiling it? I spent the first fifteen to twenty minutes wondering what was happening. We’re thrust into a story already in its second act. As we get our bearings, the film coalesces into a meditation on self-destructive behavior with allegories of drug use and infidelity. It explores this theme from two perspectives: one a woman played by Béatrice Dalle and a man played by Vincent Gallo. The differing reactions from their partners proffers a commentary on contemporary sexual politics. To this end, the film works. But the metaphor it uses necessitates extreme gore and sexual violence.

I admired what the film saying, its commitment to horror, and how it went about it, but it’s only a third of a movie. With no beginning or end, the film offers no narrative journey. In struggling to sustain its hundred-minute running time, the film dangles bits of plot that go nowhere.

For some, the visceral nature and heightened imagery will compensate. Part of me wants to rate this film higher for its sheer willingness to push the envelope and go there. But I must be honest that it left me underwhelmed. Perhaps a future viewing will prove kinder. Maybe a boutique home video release with a director commentary will proffer new insights.

Said release is overdue. Judging by the blurred credits, the print streaming on Hoopla and elsewhere looks to be a standard-def upscale.