Under the Silver Lake | 2019 | R | – 8.6.9

Why is “Under the Silver Lake” rated R? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “strong sexual content, graphic nudity, violence, language throughout and some drug use.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes many scenes of full female nudity, several sexual encounters between a man and a woman, and male masturbation; several violent acts and discussions of accidental death and suicide with some bloody and gory results, and several seemingly hallucinatory scenes and strange interactions with humans and animals; and over 40 F-words. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.”

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A young man (Andrew Garfield) finds an attractive young woman (Riley Keough) swimming in his apartment pool one night but next morning she vanishes without explanation. Determined to find her, he embarks on a surreal journey across Los Angeles, trying to decipher what he thinks are clues pointing to a bizarre conspiracy. Also with Wendy Vanden Heuvel, Riki Lindhome, Chris Gann, Callie Hernandez, Rex Linn and Topher Grace. Directed by David Robert Mitchell. [Running Time: 2:19]

Under the Silver Lake SEX/NUDITY 8

 – A man and a woman have sex on a bed and he thrusts from behind her for an extended period of time, with slapping and grunting and moaning until climax (we see his bare buttocks and legs, her bare breasts, abdomen and partial buttocks). A man and a woman lie in bed together (we see her bare back, legs and partial breasts) and she kisses and caresses his bare chest (sex is implied). A woman takes off her dress and we see her wearing a bra and underwear that reveal cleavage, bare abdomen, bare buttocks and legs to the hips as she straddles a man and kisses his neck; the man asks her about why she is a paid escort. A man masturbates while looking at pictures of women in magazines and photographs (we see bare breasts and abdomens and buttocks) and we see he arm moving rhythmically and hear slapping of flesh. A topless woman sits in bed next to a man after having sex (her bare breasts and upper abdomen are seen).
► A nude man and a nude woman swim in a lake and kiss (we see her bare breasts, pubic hair and abdomen, his chest and buttocks). We see a security video of a fully nude woman wearing an owl mask (bare breasts, pubic hair, abdomen, legs, buttocks and back are seen) walking through a man’s apartment. A nude woman seated on a sofa shows her bare hip and partial buttock, and her bare breasts covered by her arm and shaved genitals. A topless woman is shown on her balcony and a man watches her with binoculars as she dances with a parrot (her bare breasts, abdomen and back are seen). A topless woman cleans her windows as a man watches from a distance (we see her bare breasts and abdomen). A man gets out of bed wearing no pants and walks in a room (we see his bare buttocks and legs). A man removes his clothing after being sprayed by a skunk and we see his bare buttocks, back and legs, and then his chest when he sits in a tub of tomato juice. A fully nude woman sits on the side of a pool (we see her in profile with her arm covering her breasts and we see bare shoulders, side, partial abdomen, hip and legs). A woman wearing a bikini is shown at a poolside and a man watches her. A picture of a nude woman wearing garters and stockings is shown on a man’s T-shirt (her bare legs to the hips, abdomen and cleavage are visible). A woman wears a short dress and thigh-high stockings that reveals her bare upper thighs and cleavage. There are several scenes that show line drawings of nude women in a comic book style (her bare breasts, pubic hair, buttocks, abdomens and legs are seen). A man’s car is keyed by some boys and we see the damaged paint with the outline of male genitals etched on the hood of the car (please see the Violence/Gore category for more details). Three women wear short-shorts that reveal partial bare buttocks and full bare legs. Two women wearing bikinis (cleavage, bare abdomens and legs to the hips are seen) stand alongside a man wearing a pirate costume. A woman wears a full body suit that outlines her breasts, abdomen, legs and buttocks as she dances. Men and women wear swimsuits in a pool and we see cleavage, bare abdomens, bare chests and partial buttocks. Women wear swimsuits at a pool (cleavage, bare abdomens, backs, legs and partial buttocks are seen). A woman wears a short dress that reveals cleavage and stocking covered legs to the upper thighs. A partially obscured poster of a woman exposing deep cleavage and spread, bent knees hangs on a wall. Women wear low-cut dresses that reveal cleavage at a party. Women at a party wear short dresses that reveal their legs to the upper thighs and some glimpses of underwear. A line drawing of male genitals is shown on a bathroom stall wall. A woman wears a dress that reveals part of the side of her breast. Women at a party wear low-cut tops and dresses that reveal cleavage. Three women wear low-cut dresses that reveal cleavage and the outline of nipples through the fabric. A man uses a drone to fly near a woman’s home and he and a friend watch her as she removes her blouse (we see her wearing a bra and cleavage and her bare abdomen are visible). A woman looks at a “Playboy” magazine and a man talks about having masturbated to the woman on the cover (we see cleavage and partial breasts with the model’s hands covering her nipples).
► A man and a woman lie in bed together and kiss (they are clothed and no sex is implied). Two women kiss while dancing at a club. A woman with balloons attached to her costume dances at a club and people with pins pop the balloons as she poses. Men and women dance together at a party.
► A man and a woman talk about the first things they each masturbated to. A woman asks a man if he was masturbating while looking at her when she was by a swimming pool. A man breaks into an empty apartment and finds a sex aid in a shoe box; he holds it and smells it. Many advertisements are shown with sexual innuendo (such as phallus shaped objects near the parted lips of women, or a woman’s face photographed near the spread legs of a man).

Under the Silver Lake VIOLENCE/GORE 6

 - A man with a guitar uses it to pound on the head and face of a man until they both break (we see a large bloody hole where the man's face used to be and a lot of blood and matter). A nude man and a nude woman swim in a lake and are shot at by someone on shore; the woman is struck in the chest and we see her floating under water with blood pouring from the wound. A man yells at another man and shoots at him.
► A man's car is keyed by some young boys and we see the damaged paint (please see the Sex/Nudity category for more details) and the man witnesses the perpetrators vandalizing other cars and grabs one of the boys, punches him in the face, forces a raw egg into his mouth, kicks him several times and leaves him with a bloody face and mouth and then punches another boy in the stomach. A man is spat on and kneed in the groin; he falls to the floor, several people yell at him and their voices change to dog barks. A man breaks into a bathroom, pulls a seated man off a toilet and punches him in the face a few times bloodying his nose and teeth; he then twists his hand and the man lies on the floor pleading with him to stop.
► We hear that a man committed suicide and see a large puddle of blood on a bed and the floor in an apartment. A man walks along a dark wooded path and finds a man wearing a woman's dress leaning over a dead man and chewing on his abdomen, and he turns and barks like a dog (we see blood on the chewing man's face and on the dead man's chest and abdomen) as the dead body separates at the middle and is pulled off-screen. A man walks along a dark wooded path and finds a dead dog with its intestines exposed (we see blood and intestines on the ground).
► A black and white animation depicts a man shooting himself in the head and blood (black ink) splatters on the wall behind him. A silhouette drawing depicts a man holding a large knife with a small dog impaled on the blade. A drawing shows a pile of human skulls on the bottom of a lake bed. A squirrel falls from a tree and lands hard on a sidewalk in front of a man; we see the squirrel splattered with blood and matter and blood pools on the ground as it lifts its head and seems to gasp. A silhouette drawing of a dog hanging from a tree is shown.
► A man walks along a dark wooded path and sees a figure behind him, then in front of him and he runs and hides in bushes where he is sprayed in the face by a skunk; he vomits (we see goo and hear him gag) and people make remarks about his smell through the rest of the movie. A man falls to his knees while dancing (he apparently took a drug), rushes to the bathroom and vomits in a toilet (we see goo in the toilet water and hear him gagging). A man collapses and lies unconscious on the ground in a cemetery where he wakes up later with beer cans and bottles around him. A man is blindfolded, led through a forest and left in a cave/tunnel that he walks through tentatively until he finds what seems to be a bomb shelter. We see a security video of a fully nude woman wearing an owl mask walking through a man's apartment. Four people lie still on the floor after drinking tea (presumably laced with a drug or poison). A man is shown chained into a chair (he is then released). A man hears glass breaking and goes to investigate and as he walks through a dark hallway a woman with a knife moves toward him until he turns around and she runs away.
► We hear that a man's body was found in a fiery wreck. We hear that human bones, skin and teeth were found in a burned out car. We hear that the bodies of three prostitutes and a dog were found. People talk about remnants of a man's body having been found in wreckage (teeth, some flesh and "any organs he can live without"). There are several references to a dog killer and "Beware the Dog Killer" is seen written on the street and on a store window. A woman yells at a woman at a poolside and tells her to turn down her music (the woman does not turn it down). We hear a news report of a missing man. A man talks about symbols used by "hobos" to communicate warnings and places to find help. A man refers to a legend about a woman who wears a taxidermied owl skin and kills people.
► A man is threatened with eviction and the police arrive at his door to make him leave. A man's car is repossessed for lack of payment and he chases the tow truck on the street. We see several taxidermied animals in a man's home. Many people are gathered in a cemetery watching a movie on a large screen. Many casts of human faces hang along the wall of a man's home; he calls them life masks. A man breaks into an empty apartment. People gather in what looks like a mausoleum or crypt where a band plays and the singer introduces a song saying, "This one is for Jesus."
► A dog defecates on a sidewalk (we see feces) and a woman disposes of the waste. A boy urinates on the window of a parked car (we see the stream). A man sits on a toilet with his pants around his ankles. Boys throw something gooey onto the handles of parked cars (it's not clear what it is). A man spits out something he has bitten into. A man touches the handle of his car and finds something gooey on it and we see goo on his hand (it's not clear what it is; it could be gum). A woman spits in a man's face (we see saliva). A coyote eats from a garbage can.

Under the Silver Lake LANGUAGE 9

 - About 41 F-words, 5 sexual references, 10 scatological terms, 8 anatomical terms, 3 mild obscenities, name-calling (homeless man, greedy, creepy, ridiculous, weird, chick, dumb), exclamations (oh shoot, wow), 11 religious exclamations (e.g. Jesus, Thank God, Oh My God, Oh God, I Swear To God, a band's name is "Jesus and the Brides of Dracula"). | profanity glossary |

Under the Silver Lake SUBSTANCE USE

 - A man collapses and vomits after taking too much of a drug, four people lie still on the floor after drinking tea (presumably laced with a drug or poison), and a woman asks a man if he wants to "get stoned." People are shown drinking in several bar scenes as well as club scenes and party scenes throughout the movie, a man drinks a beer, and two men drink beers in a few scenes. A man smokes a cigarette on his balcony, a man smokes a cigarette in bed after sex, a man in a movie is shown smoking a cigarette and offers one to a woman who accepts, a young woman smokes a cigarette in a cemetery, and a man smokes cigarettes outside in several scenes.

Under the Silver Lake DISCUSSION TOPICS

 - Unemployment, eviction, casual sex, patterns, conspiracies, after life, paranoia, mistakes, life choices, fear, modern persecution complex.

Under the Silver Lake MESSAGE

 - Conspiracies exist and clues that make no sense may be all around, in comics, video games, products, etc. -- or maybe not.