Highly recommended by my friends and net-friends, I got this movie and settled into my sofa with a bucket of popcorn and a grin. I was all ready for a tense and steamy jousting match between Jeff Kohlver (Patrick Wilson) and Hayley Stark (Ellen Page).
Lets begin with what worked. The premise was pretty good. A teenager inverse-stalks some guy she thinks is a pedophile, even going into his lair to whatever. The cinematography through the whole thing was good in the beginning, devolving to fair at the end.
Unfortunately, what evolves is a maddening, easily predictable, implausible, amateur torture session narrated by over-acting Ellen Page. Whenever she started rattling after the first 20 minutes or so my finger would twitch to press the mute button. It only goes down hill from there.
At several points during the film I yelled out "KILL HER, YOU MORON!" to the TV, but Jeff didn't hear me. I'm fairly sure he's brain damaged considering the mind-numbingly bad things he does.
However, my lack of empathy soon extended from Ellen's character to everyone in the flick and I leaned back with a snort of disgust, saying: "All right *bleep*, you deserve what you get.". Only sheer will and a "lets watch the train-wreck" fascination kept me watching.
In the beginning, I was looking forward to Sandra Oh's appearance but by the time she arrived I just waved my glass of Jack & Coke to the TV and said: "Who cares. You're going to be too stupid to notice anything." I wasn't surprised.
I can understand how younger women would find this movie interesting from a "lets control the man" point of view, similar to Y TU MAMÁ TAMBIÉN (which was awesome). I'm assuming that some submissive male masochists might like it as well.
Ultimately, I guess I just don't understand a movie that relentlessly and brainlessly kicks a character for its entire length without a message. I mean, what was the point? 2/10.
Lets begin with what worked. The premise was pretty good. A teenager inverse-stalks some guy she thinks is a pedophile, even going into his lair to whatever. The cinematography through the whole thing was good in the beginning, devolving to fair at the end.
Unfortunately, what evolves is a maddening, easily predictable, implausible, amateur torture session narrated by over-acting Ellen Page. Whenever she started rattling after the first 20 minutes or so my finger would twitch to press the mute button. It only goes down hill from there.
At several points during the film I yelled out "KILL HER, YOU MORON!" to the TV, but Jeff didn't hear me. I'm fairly sure he's brain damaged considering the mind-numbingly bad things he does.
However, my lack of empathy soon extended from Ellen's character to everyone in the flick and I leaned back with a snort of disgust, saying: "All right *bleep*, you deserve what you get.". Only sheer will and a "lets watch the train-wreck" fascination kept me watching.
In the beginning, I was looking forward to Sandra Oh's appearance but by the time she arrived I just waved my glass of Jack & Coke to the TV and said: "Who cares. You're going to be too stupid to notice anything." I wasn't surprised.
I can understand how younger women would find this movie interesting from a "lets control the man" point of view, similar to Y TU MAMÁ TAMBIÉN (which was awesome). I'm assuming that some submissive male masochists might like it as well.
Ultimately, I guess I just don't understand a movie that relentlessly and brainlessly kicks a character for its entire length without a message. I mean, what was the point? 2/10.