In March of the year 3019, Frodo Baggins--with the help of Samwise Gamgee, destroys the one ring and the ever-powerful Sauron. Now, take a huge step backward to the year 2019 and the one who will one day be capable of bringing balance to the universe (Elijah Wood) is cast in Ant Timpson’s Come to Daddy. Norval Greenwood (Wood) has recently received a letter from his estranged father, asking him to come visit at his secluded, beachfront, house in rural Oregon. When Norval shows up, the journey he had hoped for is not the one that he experiences. When his father ends up being everything he had never hoped for, his life is swiftly turned sideways. Now, Norval must find a way to make nice with his father and find solace in what sort of parent is available to him.
Wood has had some success here and there after the sensation that is The Lord of the Rings, but, in general, audiences have followed him because of his talent as the homunculus being, Frodo. Entities like Cooties and Wilfred have helped to showcase his talent, but I can say, with all honesty, that Come to Daddy is his best film since the Lord of the Rings franchise. His role in this film could not be more different from his role in the aforementioned series, and that proves how wonderfully brilliant he is. I am impressed with the way that Wood is able to transition from sci-fi hero to a horror/thriller protagonist who, in many ways, might be considered a number of euphemisms for female genitalia. Again, Timpson, with the help of his co-writer, Toby Harvard, is able to showcase Wood’s abilities and bring his acting to life like never before.
The first half of Come to Daddy is difficult to fall in love with. Wood’s counterparts (who I won’t name in order to keep some of the mystery alive), and Wood, as wonderful as he is, struggles to keep himself afloat with the less-than-adequate writing. Fortunately for Wood, and the audiences, things quickly look up and take a sharp turn toward interesting.
I have seen numerous reviews praising Come to Daddy, but, as a whole, the praise it has received, in my opinion, is unwarranted. Come to Daddy possesses dark and thrilling undertones, but, throughout the course of the film, audiences are subjected to oddities that take away from the thrill of what could have been. These deep, dark themes that crawl beneath the dialogue of Come to Daddy are ultimately washed out by the poor script in the first act. Luckily, as the film progresses, Harvard and Timpson are, like I said before, able to shift the narrative and the script in a direction that intrigues audiences and keeps them engaged for the remainder of the story.
I was intrigued with the simple idea that Norval travels to a remote location to find his estranged father (and the fact that it might somehow turn into a demented horror film). There are twists and turns throughout Come to Daddy that make the film worthwhile, but, ultimately, Timpson’s script (and his ideas) fall short of the expectations given to me by nearly every review I’ve recently read. I certainly did not hate Come to Daddy, but, thanks to the general public, the expectations I had going in were not met. I implore you to come in having low expectations, but expect a series of unfortunate events led by Wood’s prowess and impeccable acting ability.
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