10 Overly Pretentious Movies We Should've Walked Out Of

6. Gerry

The Hungarian filmmaker Bela Tarr is one frequently cited when discussing the works of so-called "pretentious" directors. Featuring incredibly long lingering takes, Tarr's films are inaccessible to all but the most patient - and some might say forgiving - of audiences. That Gus Van Sant's Gerry bears a huge debt to the work of Bela Tarr is obvious enough regardless of the fact that the director expressly stated so himself. Two hiking companions played by Matt Damon and Casey Affleck, both of whom go by the eponymous name "Gerry", get lost in the wilderness without food and water and struggle to find their way back before they die. While such a simple tale is expected to be told with an eye for the minimalist, Van Sant's imagery lacks to requisite depth and juxtaposition to elevate it above its simple conceit - you only have to watch a movie like Nicholas Roeg's Walkabout to see how effectively similar material can be moulded into something truly profound in the hands of a superior director. That said, Van Sant's most pointless vanity project still remains his completely unnecessary remake of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, while the long take minimalism which diminishes Gerry worked considerably better in his other movie Elephant.