Reviews

I was more than pleasantly surprised by this Netflix film; I was blown away by its impact.

All the acting was superb; Eric Bogosian seemed a little subdued, but maybe his role called for it. Del Toro et al were unbeatable. I particularly want to praise Michael Pitt for his role as the misfit down and out who was quite electrifying in every one of his scenes.

I also want to call out the amazing soundtrack. Soundtracks can make or break a film and in this case, it made the film for me.

So my review is too short (!). Not sure what else to say except I hope it's a great success and Benecio del Toro should be very proud.

Always shocked when I watch a film without reading reviews beforehand. This was such a great film. Remember the title. You might also take seriously the MPAA guidelines.

You will need patience but this film is worth it. Everything gdalesmith writes is true. Reminds me ofAin't Them Bodies Got Saints, only a very different setting. Tricky editing might throw some, but it is effective.

This film is an odd bird. It's set in NYC in 1977 and Naomi Watts plays a woman who is terrified to leave her apartment which is located in a rundown Bronx ghetto. You gradually learn her story in her interactions during visits by the few outsiders she allows into her life as she hovers near a mental breakdown. It's more a play than a film. No violence and a relatively positive ending.

You probably need to have lived through the 70s to appreciate it. But I liked it a lot.

It has its flaws, the title being the most significant. Not sure what they were thinking. But it in no way deserves all the snarky 1 and 2 numeric ratings. IMDB please! drop the numeric rating and make people justify their gripes. A plus or minus for those too lazy to write something would be sufficient.

Even the many very positive reviews here, a needed corrective to the professional reviewers who trashed this film at its openings, seem to be missing the best thing about this film. The praise for the make-up artists, cinematographers, set designers, costuming etc are all spot on. But everyone seems to accept the "serial killer movie" assumption. Yes, it's about a man who murders four women over a period of years. But that is not the only story that this film is telling anymore than The Joker is just another movie about clowns.

First, there's the lead, Heino Ferch: tremendous presence and excellent actor. (If you happened to see Downfall, he played Albert Speer.) Plenty of great supporting actors. Secondly, thoughtful and intense stories, in my opinion; he is a tortured but arrogant psychologist, not a detective. It is deadly serious so if you prefer wise-cracking, quirky detectives and happy endings, seek elsewhere. Set in Austria with gorgeous backdrops despite its admittedly downbeat tone.

Reminded me of the great films that have come out of Romania and other eastern European countries during the past 15 years. A touching and beautiful film about human connections and disconnections. Wonderful soundtrack, especially the title song. I hope I will find other films by Victor Arregui.

This is a fun movie but certainly doesn't deserve the high praise it's getting in a lot of these reviews. About all it has going for it is Lee Van Cleef and he is mostly wasted. Lacks all the finesse and most of the originality of even many of the other Leone rip-offs.

P.S. If you are a Mexican village under the evil domination of Bad Hombres and Lee Van Cleef arrives and promises to help out, your village elders might want to view this movie before accepting his help.