When I first saw the trailer for Gore Verbinski's A Cure for Wellness last winter, I won't lie, I was intrigued. Something strange going down in a poorly lit Swiss sanitarium with a decent cast including Dane DeHaan and Jason Isaacs? Count me in I will totally see that eventually!
While home for Xmas, I mentioned to my family I had a copy of it waiting to be watched. My mom told me not to bother. "The ending SUCKED!" She exclaimed, as only my mom can. My sister was a bit less harsh, but they both urged me to skip it. Of course, I wanted to see for myself, so I watched it last night.
DeHaan's character is a young NYC executive sent to Switzerland to bring his company's CEO back from a wellness center built over a water source with renowned healing properties in the Alps. Of course, things aren't all smoothies, tai chi, and massages at this spa, and DeHaan is swept up in the mystery.
The biggest mystery for me in this movie was why I continued watching it. It was visually stunning to be sure, and creepy thanks to the lighting and design. But the plot just seemed to twist and turn for the sake of twists and turns, creating a very muddy story with characters that were hard to care about. As far as the ending being awful, I think that's a matter of opinion. It felt like the movie ended 3 or 4 times before it actually ended. So I guess I'm going to have to ask my mom which ending she thought sucked, or if she meant all of them.
