1. D-Slice

   10

   What a superb film! Incredibly inpactful and thrilling. Great performances all around, with a beautiful score and amazing writing to go hand in hand with the Sidney Lumet touch. How this film was snubbed for not even a single Oscar nomination, I will never understand. Michael Shannon and Albert Finney bring such great energy and power; Hoffman and Hawke really express the confusion in the **** that takes place. The melodramatic performances rarely seem over done because the thrill is amped up to 14. This film physically punched me in the face: no ****… Expand

   • Helpful? 0 of 0 users said Yes.
2. JimmyB.

   8

   Mike H. and almost everyone else's comments on this film are completely inane. Frankly, I'm surprised most of you even know about this website. Mike H- your incorrect labeling of the film's first scene as an "anal sex scene" really discredits your comment and it ISN"T an anal sex scene, and no way does the film indicate it being one. In fact, the tone of the scene essentially confirms that it isn't. Anyway, I had to rant about that as I'm tired of reading asinine user comments on Youtube, Metacritic, whatever.… Expand

   • Helpful? 0 of 0 users said Yes.
3. FDT44

   7

   Another installment in the POV thriller, this one, packing more emotion and melodramatic "fluff" than anything seen on "General Hospital." The plot is innately simple and intriguing, but is suddenly contrived with non-linearity. On the upside, however, each scene is shot delicately, drawing great amounts of real-life feeling. Seymour delivers his usual, banal acting job, bailed out only by solid writing. The real firmness and direction is lead by Finney, whose genuinately is more than able and deserving. As for Tomei...well, what you see is what you get. Don't let me stray you from thinking any differently, the film is very well done: methodical, concise, and enlivening. The subtle undertones and suggestions are superb, the anticipation is live, the direction is vague, and the irony is delicious. The biggest quandary, though, Hollywood's obsession to aggrandize...I guess simpler isn't always better...?… Collapse

   • Helpful? 1 of 1 users said Yes.
4. PhilN

   4

   A mystifyingly overrated film. The biggest flaw - which I found completely crippling - was that it was impossible to root for any of the characters. Attempts to justify the two leads' actions fall short (especially when it later becomes clear an alternative was available), and as human beings they are simply despicable, exhibiting infantile selfishness and irresponsibility. Good film & TV (such as The Sopranos, There Will Be Blood) has shown us we can care deeply about monstrous people, or at least care about their fate, but this film fails to invoke any such feeling - I could have left half way through and would never have wondered about these two losers again. Furthermore, the plot is shaky and unconvincing and descends into hackneyed TV-movie gibberish toward the end. Albert Finney's character, who initially seems like the only glimmer of humanity and perhaps the movie's saving grace, unfortunately also turns into a cliche in his final - almost nonsensical - scenes. The non-linear, POV-switching storytelling is nothing more than a gimmick - nothing is revealed through these shifts, there's simply no reason for them to be there and they make the film needlessly cumbersome. The dreadful audio/visual effect that accompanies each shift is ugly and jarring, making them even more annoying. Positives: the film is nicely shot and the performances are good (but these too are overrated - the two great actors here, PSH and Finney, are coasting, nowhere near the height of their powers). The best thing is really the premise, which had potential but ultimately the film is a pointless waste of time and talent. Certainly not the worst film I've ever seen, but one I find impossible to recommend.… Expand

   • Helpful? 1 of 1 users said Yes.

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