1. M.Carey

   9

   I was on the edge of my seat throughout the entire film. It offered not a moment's rest. By the end of the movie, I was breathless. This was one hell of a rollercoaster ride. Tilda Swinton's compelling performance as a young mother who would go to any length to protect her family deserves all the critical acclaim she's been receiving, and her malevolent blackmailer, Goron Visnjic, who is transformed into a compassionate and selfless human being -- bad boys always fall for pretty damsels in distress, don't they? -- is both sexy and charismatic. Everyone I know who has seen this film loved it, which is why I went to see it. I'm glad I did. Film Noir is back, baby -- this time in color -- and it's as dark, consuming, and menacing as ever.… Expand

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2. JohnB.

   8

   Should have had more of a gay subplot. Too stereotypical homophobic.

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3. lasttimeisaw

   8

   The enchanting opening score and a dominant blue hue eases its way of a concealed familial drama with a murder case, a blackmail and an in-the-closet gay son. Out of expectation, a lesser impact on the gay culture, the film endeavors a strenuous effort to accent on a desperate mother’s instinct of shielding her son, and magnificently the plot concocts a cordial twist to furnish the film with compassion and great gratification. Tilda Swinton is the ace here (vaguely has sustained her indie-queen ethereality into a more mainstream scope since then), magnifying every impression into an intact personification of a role model mother of three children, who struggles to cover a murder case which she thinks has executed by her elder gay son (which is barely the truth as audience has witnessed the entire occurrence), after that developing a mutual affinity with a young gay blackmailer, things start to become more engrossing. Goran Visnjic is equally empathetic and even a tad overshadowing Ms. Swinton during the final confrontation (a poignant moment arrives when their lips are so close to each other near the end of the film). It never goes awry with the things-getting-worse-until-the-very-end mode, at first one might sense a pro-WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN (2011) ominous trauma was awaiting us, congenially enough it is not about the embittering mother-son's love/hate perplexity. This indie gem from director duo Scott McGehee & David Siegel (whose later feature BEE SEASON 2005 is a rueful misfire, a 5/10 in my rating, while their latest WHAT MAISIE KNEW starring my diva Julianne Moore is on the shelf this year) needs more credit for its adroit exposition, splendidly heart-rending impetus and the celeste tableau.… Expand

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