Zeller's 'Bunker' Disappoints at Venice Despite Star Cast

Florian Zeller's new film 'Bunker' is a critical disappointment, according to a review from its Venice Film Festival premiere. The movie, which stars Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem, is the writer-director's first original screenplay not adapted from his own stage work.

Even the formidable star power of its leads cannot rescue the shallow drama. The Guardian's review calls it unsatisfying, lacking the intimate passion of Zeller's previous acclaimed films like 'The Father' and 'The Son'. The film attempts to tackle themes of alienation and inequality but has little original to say.

A Strained Marriage

Cruz and Bardem play Sofia and Miguel, a stylish Spanish couple who have moved to London with their two teenage daughters. Sofia is a book editor managing a publisher's foreign literature list. Miguel is a world-famous architect. Their relationship is happy until a tech billionaire, played by Paul Dano, approaches Miguel with a lucrative offer.

The billionaire wants Miguel to design a luxurious survivalist mega-bunker in Hawaii, a project his agent, played by Mark Gatiss, calls "pharaonic". Sofia is furious, hating the idea of taking money from the kind of plutocrat causing the problems he wants to escape. Miguel, however, is tempted by the colossal fee, causing a rift. In her depression, Sofia befriends a handsome young author, played by Patrick Schwarzenegger.

Missed Opportunities

The central marital conflict is largely sidelined for a so-so home-invasion suspense plot. The review notes one extended argument scene showed what could have been achieved if the relationship was the film's true focus. Instead, the film devotes time to a subplot where Miguel argues with a chippy neighbour, played by Stephen Graham, who built a window overlooking his garden.

The violent finale is described as outrageously glib, silly, and unconvincing. An off-camera paramedic or doctor has to explain in a brief sentence what supposedly happened. "Very lame," the review states.

Stylistic Influences and Touches

Zeller has said he was inspired by Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman in Stanley Kubrick's 'Eyes Wide Shut'. The review wonders if the icy ordeal of Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche in Michael Haneke's 'Hidden' was also an influence. There are some amusing incidental touches, including a crisp cameo from Eileen Atkins.

A moment of boisterous comedy arrives when security-conscious Miguel is persuaded to install "fog cannons" in the house to smother intruders in smoke. They prove useless. Gatiss's agent character is intensely frustrated by Miguel's hesitation, snapping at him to "Think big!". The review itself suggests the film could have thought bigger, with a more direct engagement with the tech oligarch or a more explosive marital confrontation.

'Bunker' is seen as a film that walls up its potential in a petty bunker of its own making, failing to deliver on its promising premise and cast.