In adapting the words, Cube and Splice’s Vincenzo Natali — on top of everything else — also sees room for time loops, emphasized violence, new interactions and a platform for philosophy. In concept the augments ensure this telling of In the Tall Grass is distinctively Natali’s; in reality they are proof of follies taking roots in the field. Had the writer-director spent more time, or the same as however long was used to craft those oftentimes startlingly breathtaking visuals, on…

By being always really there in the film, Joaquin Phoenix shows up with the capacity to grip and twist insides with freakish ease. No one in Gotham listens to his Arthur, but he always smiles because he know we will. Have to. Still shuddering, believe it or not.

His performance also gives you the needed strength to overcome a direction and writing that so often pull away from its perfect spot — forbidden peek into a madman’s file — toward…