The Focus Pull Film Journal The Focus Pull Film Journal
The Focus Pull Film Journal The Focus Pull Film Journal
  • Full Issues 
  • Reviews 
  • Features 
  • OUR TEAM
  • Info.
    • OUR TEAM
  • Content
    • Full Issues 
      • Issue #01
      • Issue #02
      • Issue #03
      • Issue #04
      • Issue #05
      • Issue #06
      • Issue #07
      • Issue #08
      • Issue #09
      • Issue #10
      • Issue #11
      • Issue #12
      • Issue #13
      • Issue #14
      • Issue #15
      • Issue #16
      • Issue #17
      • Issue #18
      • Issue #19
      • Issue #20
      • Issue #21
      • Issue #22
      • Issue #23
      • Issue #24
      • Issue #25 - Horror Week
      • Issue #26
      • Issue #27
      • Issue #28
      • Issue #29
      • Issue #30
      • Issue #31
      • Issue #32
      • Issue #33
      • Issue #34
      • Issue #35
      • Issue #36
      • Issue #37
      • Issue #38
      • Issue #39
      • Issue #40
    • Reviews 
      • (All Reviews)
      • Action Adventure
      • Animation
      • Biography/History
      • Comedy
      • Crime
      • Documentary
      • Drama
      • Foreign
      • Horror
      • Romance
      • Sci-Fi
      • Thriller
    • Features 
      • (All Features)
      • Bonding with Bond
      • Double Exposures
      • Essays
      • Event Coverage
      • Lists
      • New to Netflix
      • News
      • Retrospectives
    • OUR TEAM
REGISTER
@
LOGIN
Features
1
previous article
FIRST LOOK 2015: I Touched All Your Stuff (A Vida Privada dos Hipopótamos)
next article
Where to Start: Five Essential Films by Yasujirō Ozu

FIRST LOOK 2015: Coming to Terms

by Josef Rodriguez on January 12, 2015
Overall Rating
0.5
THE BOTTOM LINE

Despite the inspired casting of legendary filmmaker James Benning, Jon Jost’s Coming to Terms is a baffling misfire on every conceivable level, resulting in not only the year’s worst film, but one of the worst film’s in recent memory.

0.5
Critic Rating
You have rated this

James Benning has been one of the leading voices in the underground experimental movement for many years, and his appearance in the documentary Double Play alongside Richard Linklater only further illustrates the true scope of inspiration that has resulted from his work. Having released a steady stream of films since the early 1970s, Benning has always been able to stay on the cusp of the constantly changing experimental scene without ever succumbing to the pressures of mainstream media.

Writer-director Jon Jost is another filmmaker of this ilk, and his most recent film Coming to Terms casts fellow experimentalist James Benning as a dying father whose only wish is to be killed by his family. Assisted suicide, really, but the concept is still as unceasingly bleak as it sounds. One son is a pastor, the other is gay. One of his former lovers is a portly, blonde woman while the other is a thin brunette. Jost’s film is nothing if not a study in stark contrasts.

Unfortunately, the film is also a massive, profound failure on every conceivable level. From a horrible script with even worse performances, an unappealing palette, and an abundantly obvious lack of substance that doesn’t even justify its relatively brief 85 minute runtime, Coming to Terms isn’t just bad: it’s aggressively bad. Almost every scene goes on much longer than it needs to, and the unwatchable performances only add to the feeling that this horrid experience will truly never end. There is no reason for a film like this to exist. It says nothing profound about life, death, or love, although, at every conceivable moment, it tries so hard to.

The only redeeming quality in this film are two beautifully composed shots that offer a brief detour into the naturalistic groove that Jost seemed to be going for. The first was a wonderful composition of a red rock hill that Benning is revealed to be gazing at roughly six minutes after the scene should have ended. The other, which takes place directly after the death of Benning’s character, is a shot that could have only been done with a DV camera. It features a messy abundance of forest, all with the fuzziness offered by the camera of Jost’s choice.

One could theorize that Jost was attempting to create beauty with a seemingly inferior device, as evidenced by Jost’s odd choices of mise-en-scene during certain dialogue sequences, but this is possibly the only moment in the film where this approach is exploited to its fullest potential. Other than that, Coming to Terms is painfully bad and, to slam it with an even worse pun, I’m still coming to terms with the fact that I was able to sit through it.

Return to First Look 2015 Coverage
Language

English

Runtime

1 hr. 25 min.

Genre

Drama

Director

Jon Jost

Cast

James Benning, Ryan Harper Gray, Roxanne Rogers, Kathryn Sannella, Stephen Taylor

(All Features), (All Reviews), Drama, Event Coverage, Features, Issue #33, NYC First Look Film Festival 2015, Reviews
coming to termsfirst look 2015James Benningjon jostKathryn SannellaRoxanne RogersRyan Harper GrayStephen Taylor
coming to terms, first look 2015, James Benning, jon jost, Kathryn Sannella, Roxanne Rogers, Ryan Harper Gray, Stephen Taylor
About the Author
Josef Rodriguez
Josef Rodriguez
Josef Rodriguez is a writer, filmmaker, and musician living in New York City. He is often labeled as "that guy who didn't love Boyhood" and he finds himself liking Harmony Korine films more than he likes his own friends. When he's not stressing over turning in reviews on time, Josef can be seen playing guitar, watching "Spring Breakers," or trying to write the next great American movie.
You might also like
first look 2015James Benning
 

FIRST LOOK 2015: Bx46

by Josef Rodriguez on January 25, 2015
“Bx46” is beautifully filmed and features hilarious and fascinating interviews with some of New York’s Fulton Fish Market employees, even though it sometimes has trouble establishing a consistent rhythm.
 

FIRST LOOK 2015: Charlie’s Country

by Josef Rodriguez on January 25, 2015
“Charlie’s Country” is nice to look at, and David Gulpili’s award-winning performance lives up to the hype, but its heavy-handed political message often gets in the way of the various subtleties and character moments presented throughout.
 

FIRST LOOK 2015: I Touched All Your Stuff (A Vida Privada dos Hipopótamos)

by Josef Rodriguez on January 12, 2015
I Touched All Your Stuff is an entertaining and funny documentary that functions less as a retelling of true events and more as an exercise in deceit and the inherent phoniness of a documentary film.
 

FIRST LOOK 2015: Amour Fou

by Josef Rodriguez on January 11, 2015
Amour Fou is a funny, cynical costume drama with a wicked sense of humor and an impressive visual palette that offers a master class in how to make a biographical film.
comments
Leave a reply
  • Leopold Vincent Medley
    May 13, 2015 at 10:24 pm

    Well, I haven’t seen this one yet though I strongly look forward to it. Jon Jost is the best, most visionary, and overall the most important independent american filmmaker that ever lived. I am yet to see one of his films that I don’t absolutely love. I’m super excited to see this one simply to see where this true masterful film veteran is today. I’ll email him and try to order a DVD ASAP.

Add Comment Register



Leave a Response
Cancel reply

The Focus Pull in your inbox!

Subscribe to this list, and we'll send you each week's new issue directly to your inbox. One email a week, packed with essential film writing!

Latest Reviews

View All
 
Taylor Sinople Picks: The 16 Best Films of 2016
 
Form and Function in Alex Ross Perry’s “Queen of Earth&...
 
Digging for Fire and Unexpected: Husband and Wife Process Parenthoo...
 
Every Thing Will Be Fine 3D Review

Latest Features

View All
 
Taylor Sinople Picks – The 17 Best Films of 2017
 
Taylor Sinople Picks: The 16 Best Films of 2016
 
Taylor Sinople’s Top 10 Films of 2015: “The Duke of Bur...
 
8 Films to See at the 51st Chicago International Film Festival

Our Partners

Advertisement

FESTIVAL COVERAGE

View All
 
8 Films to See at the 51st Chicago International Film Festival
 
Every Thing Will Be Fine 3D Review
 
Berlinale 2015: Eisenstein in Guanajuato
 
Berlinale 2015: Sworn Virgin
 
Berlinale 2015: Under Electric Clouds

LISTS

View All
 
Taylor Sinople Picks – The 17 Best Films of 2017
 
SNL40: A Look Back at 40 Years of SNL in Film
 
Six Must-See British Films Opening in 2015
 
Oscars 2015: Ranking the Best Picture Nominees
 
Our 26 Most Anticipated Films of 2015
Tweets by @thefocuspull
  • "Popcorn - check. Soda - check...I have a date with Netflix on Friday night." - Sherry
  • "[…] nails it.” I disagree, and frankly wonder what movies John is talking about. The original G..." - Dear Godzilla Fans: Please Stop Defending that ...
  • "[…] www.thefocuspull.com […]" - Annie Hall
  • "[…] more vibrant monologue or confrontation, like the dinner scene that comes at just the right time ..." - Taylor Sinople's Top 10 Films of 2015
  • "[…] of the year is also the stuff of a best picture winner. With Michael Keaton, hot off praise from ..." - Taylor Sinople's Top 10 Films of 2015
TRENDING ON TFP
   
Try a different filter
© 2014 THE FOCUS PULL FILM JOURNAL
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.