Reviews

Just saw this at the Tribeca Film Festival and it's one of the most intelligent, raw, intense and thought provoking films I've ever seen. It's unfortunate that some audience members and critics will focus on the graphic scenes of rape, tender lovemaking, masturbation and emotional trauma.

The movie ultimately is about the extreme strength and fragility of personal will. We're shown how one person's surfacing unconditional love strengthens that person's will enough to accept and (heart wrenchingly) and not stop the complete relinquishing of another's personal will. Heady stuff, but very cleanly done.

The two lead performers, Jürgen Vogel & Sabine Timoteo, fully inhabit and bring to surface the deeply-buried emotional chaos and trajectories of their characters. (The brilliance of their work would be lost on audience members who aren't used to understanding different cultures, i.e.: Germans cool, thoughtful communication style.) Their performances are nothing short of phenomenal.

If you love great film making, see this. But brace yourself for a very compelling and intense 2.75 albeit efficient hours. You will be blown away. I found it very insightful and moving.

What a nice surprise to see a mindless sci-fi/thriller/mystery movie that works and delivers. Not going to get into the plot here: the story delicately unfolds in layers and I wouldn't want to ruin it for anyone. Suffice to say that the film keeps the audience attentive throughout and audibly gasping (if not not more) whenever the main "thrusts" of the film happens on-screen.

Julieanne Moore is, as always, great. She manages very well to convey the at-the-abyss emotional landscape of a mother refusing to relinquish the memory of her lost son. She's actually so good at that particular kind of emotional tension and has done it so regularly in other films that her resume should be entitled "Women on the Verge." (Would love to see her doing more comedy, just for balance.) All the the other actors are pitch perfect in what are mere supporting roles. Alfre Woodard is especially good as the cynical city detective/sleuth (with warmth and intelligence) although she does succumb to telepathing her 'exit' during her last few lines.

I could have done without the convention of extreme color balance shifting which has become cliché. Yes, there are holes in the script and plot, but this film does partially fall into the sci-fi genre, which is after all an oxymoron. (If you want seamless stories, stick to renting film versions of Shakespeare: Branagh's Henry V among the best.) The movie's biggest contribution to film-making is the visual realization of the thematic 'removal' of characters and the morphing of the representative perpetrator. Even Spielberg wasn't able to do it as well. All in all a good ride: certainly better and more rewarding than any Shyamalan film. Everyone in the audience I saw it with left with smiles on their faces.

Enjoyed this more than most of the Cohen canon entries, and I love their work. They seem to be at their best when aiming for light fare such as this. Clooney is refreshingly good in this two dimensional role and, in his own way, almost seems to be paying homage to Cary Grant. Catherine Zeta-Jones is ravishing. I don't think there's another screen actress around today who completely seduces the camera lens as she does. Unlike the rest of the cast, her instincts allow her to create a totally plausible character within this cardboard comedy. (Would love to see her tackle a complex, traditional femme-fatale role: she has everything required and then some.) The ingenious script (classically Cohenesque) is suffused with wonderfully entertaining moments that had the audience I sat with howling in laughter. The story arc does drop below baseline at the conclusion but the ride getting there is certainly worth the price of admission. It's not a great film but unassumingly better than most of the 'romantic comedies' served up by Hollywood. I'll see it again on DVD to savor the pith. See it if you're up for laughter and a good time.