The Weekend Away
When her best friend vanishes during a girls' trip to Croatia, Beth races to figure out what happened. But each clue yields another unsettling deception.
- Released: 2022-03-03
- Runtime: 90 minutes
- Genre: Mystery, Thrillers
- Stars: Leighton Meester, Christina Wolfe, Ziad Bakri, Luke Norris, Amar Bukvić, Iva Mihalić, Adrian Pezdirc, Parth Thakerar, Marko Braić, Lujo Kunčević, Parth Thakerar, Siniša Novković, Maro Drobnić, Giobbe Araya, Dragan Balić, Kyla Mae Ibero, Ivana Krizmanić, Nenad Srdelić, Luka Mikulicić, Toma Mikulicić
- Director: Kim Farrant
Comments
- matkorom-58148 - 14 February 2024
Disgrace to filmmaking and the country of Croatia
The story is as poor as a homework assignment. The characters are disgusting, not in a good way. The setting doesn't match the plot and isn't utilized to its full potential, probably because the story in the book doesn't take place in Croatia. The acting is nearly as bland as the colors and cinematography. Seriously, why is the film set in beautiful Split, filled with sterile whiteness and shades of gray? The camera work and editing are unimaginative and tedious. I'm ashamed to be Croatian, I feel bad for the electricity wasted on this.
The overall execution lacks creativity and fails to capture the essence of Croatia. The film's shortcomings make it a disappointing representation of the country, leaving the audience unimpressed and disconnected. - denijald - 2 September 2023
Avoid it
"The Weekend Away" is an absolutely dreadful film. From start to finish, it manages to disappoint on every level. The performances by the cast are shockingly wooden, failing to evoke any genuine emotion or engagement from the audience. The plot is a convoluted mess, filled with inexplicable twists and turns that only serve to confuse and frustrate viewers. The complete lack of a compelling backstory for the characters leaves them feeling one-dimensional and unrelatable.
Furthermore, the cinematography and direction fail to redeem the film in any way. The pacing is abysmal, with long stretches of mind-numbing boredom punctuated by moments of sheer incredulity at just how poorly executed this cinematic disaster truly is.
In the end, "The Weekend Away" is a prime example of how not to make a film. It's a painful and excruciating experience that should be avoided at all costs. Save your time and money for something far more worthwhile. - whitewolf-78896 - 22 May 2023
Mediocre; scrapped/changed context from book
I can't believe this was written by the same author as the book, which was only okay on it's own. I'm putting spoilers here to really point out aspects of the movie that don't make sense due to how characters and scenes were adjusted in the transition from novel to movie.
First, the character Beth (who was Irish and name Orla in the book) seemed fairly dumbed down: she couldn't tell the difference between water and a gin & tonic; she made some really dumb decisions like running from the cops when they came to (supposedly) arrest her; she trusted Zain (from Kosovo and named Konstandin in the book) implicitly and didn't seem to suspect him at all; she didn't seem to suspect her husband at all, either; and she chose to confront her husband alone at the end, after realizing he might have killing Kate (though he was taken down quite easily by a couple hits from Beth). All of these things were either "fixed" or expanded on and made far more believable in the book, like noticing immediately that the drink Kate brought her at the bar was not water, or on multiple occasions wondering if Zain (in this case Konstandin) was the one who actually killed Kate. On top of that, while confronting the male escorts, she and Zain/Konstandin actually had her hide at first so he could ask them questions first. She also didn't just find everything she needed (i.e. Keys to the locked room; files on a computer she'd never used) immediately without issues in the book; these things were far more difficult to find/do in the novel. On top of that, she even did some digging into Rob's alibi, like calling their babysitter to ask if she'd watched the daughter the night Kate was killed, and checking their joint accounts for any signs of Rob booking flights for that night. The whole plot was just dumbed down for the movie...
For some reason, Kate was "redeemed" in the movie in a way, when in the book she was the one who had drugged Beth/Orla, because she had been having an affair with Rob for two years, who had become trapped by Orla (Beth) having a baby (via IVF), and Kate wanted to trick her into believing she slept with another man so Rob would have an excuse to leave her. In the movie, it made no sense that she would hire and bring home two prostitutes if she was really just trying to remind her friend of what she was like "before Rob". I'm honestly not even sure what was meant by that in the movie. Rob's character wasn't really even developed or even brought up in the movie, so in what way(s) did he drag Beth down or make her change for the worst? Or was movie Beth saying she missed her partying and drinking days?
Some of the acting was just off, not the best, and while the scenery was nice, it couldn't redeem the movie. Leighton was okay as Beth, though she was really dumbed down and made a bit weaker for the movie. Zain was a good character but way too flawless, but the actor did well with what he had. The cops were about as terrible in the movie as they were in the book, so not much difference there; except the male cop didn't die a ridiculous death in the book. Time seemed really rushed in the movie; for example, during the first day that Kate was discovered missing, all Beth did was go to the police station and then meet up with Zain. In the book, they actually did some digging and investigating on their own that entire day. On top of that, Konstandin (Zain) was part of a mafia (in Lisbon where the book took place) as a doctor, which was offered as an explanation for why he was able to spend entire days not working. I know things need to be condensed down to fit the runtime, but it just left the movie feeling jilted, rushed, and void of anything meaningful. Even if some situations seemed stupid even in the book, I really wish the movie had stuck closer to the source novel. I'm really surprised that so much was changed by the original author, though I suspect she's the type to push the modern ideas of "men bad, women good," especially seeing that she didn't keep the super-devious characteristics of Kate.
All in all, not really a great movie, but an "ok" mindless movie if you're so inclined. Honestly though, I'd rather watch sequel after sequel of the "Murder Mystery" movies with Aniston and Sandler. At least they don't take themselves seriously like this movie tried to. I would not watch it again (I actually watched it twice, if you can believe, though only because I wanted to watch it after finishing the book). This is just another title in a long list of bad-to-terrible movies produced by Hollywood in the lockdown-and-covid-restriction era. Hopefully they can turn that around because most of these movies aren't even worth the ticket price or the streaming fees. - Guanche48 - 6 September 2022
Good thriller!
I like this thriller. Direct, fast and to the point.!!
All the time I thought, finally a movie in which logical decisions are made, haha
Exciting, logical and realistic with an unexpected ending.
Don't miss it if you like thrillers with good actors and nice locations and photography.
Nothing exaggerated like other American movies, full of impossible action and stupid story.
All the time I thought, finally a movie in which logical decisions are made, haha
Exciting, logical and realistic with an unexpected ending.
Don't miss it if you like thrillers with good actors and nice locations and photography.
Nothing exaggerated like other American movies, full of impossible action and stupid story.
All the time I thought, finally a movie in which logical decisions are made, haha
All the time I thought, finally a movie in which logical decisions are made, haha.
All the time I thought, finally a movie in which logical decisions are made, haha. - JoBloTheMovieCritic - 21 July 2022
The Weekend Away
5/10 - I honestly don't know who greenlit this script because there is just nothing of any true substance here with the dead obvious twists, poor pacing, and all in all, Leighton Meester deserves much better. - koltonbrett - 24 June 2022
It's Just Interesting Enough
The Weekend Away is a simple little mystery/drama that's interesting enough to hold one's attention, but it's a bit too predictable and cliché to thrill anyone all that much. The twists fail to surprise, but they manage to keep us hanging on and looking forward to the next one. It is interesting watching things unfold, even if it's not all that mentally stimulating for a mystery movie. The story relies on conveniences and coincidences too often in order to keep the storyline progressing. The cast is small but sufficient.
Leighton Meester delivers an especially convincing performance. Though it delivers some juicy drama, this getaway gone wrong lacks the thrills that are expected from a thriller.
