Look, if you’re into experimental, arthouse films, Brocklehurst might be for you. Hopefully, the synopsis sheds better light on what you’re in for. Although my understanding of Godard is limited, what I do know is story. What I experienced with Excitement is a very short story stretched over ninety long minutes.
The problem that I had with Excitement was its lack of forwarding momentum. After roughly an hour of girls dancing and Monty appearing bored, I wanted to find something worth raving about, but nothing was there. My issue is with the Monty portion of the film. He just sat there. He didn’t speak at all until the end, and all he did was make non-verbal gestures indicating boredom, disinterest, and the exact opposite of arousal. There was no story to be told. There was no indication that Monty’s gestures had anything to do with what the girls were doing and there was very little to no progression in Monty’s reactions.
“…Monty’s reactions, made even the striptease portion not all that exciting.”
The girls were lovely. Yes, some were topless—nothing explicitly pornographic. Soon, the film’s slow pace interrupted by Monty’s reactions, made even the striptease portion not all that exciting. Was that the point? I don’t know.
One other element that really bothered me was the audio. It just wasn’t captured well, sounding like the volume had to be cranked up, which also amplifies the ambient noise of the room. It was difficult to understand dialogue, especially by the woman on the cellphone video. Not being able to hear characters is for a film critic beyond frustrating.
There’s a joke about stand-up comedy. It’s not that everyone got the joke, it’s more important that the right people got the joke. The same holds true here. Not everyone is going to get the point of Excitement. I’m certainly not the one who does.
"…The girls were lovely. Yes, some were topless..."
