This review may contain spoilers.
I guess it’s an accomplishment that Thomas Schubert and Petzold somehow make Leon an interesting character, despite his misanthropy. His aggression and contempt poorly mask his insecurity and neediness—he’s so unpleasant to be around, but Schubert still wrings a ton of humor out of the characters. I almost died when Helmut read Leon’s novel back to him.
Paula Beer’s Nadja conveys so much empathy with a look. Loved her many abrupt parting line deliveries to Leon, honestly would have preferred this movie centered on her.
Wasn’t sure how to take the novel-within-a-film narration switch that takes place at the end, I feel like I need to watch it again to see if it really pulls off that transition.