Reviews

This film played with my mind more than any other I have seen in a long time. The basic premise is that Hayley a 14 yr old girl gets groomed online by a 32 year old photographer called Jeff. She invites herself back to his flat and then proceeds to drug and torture the fella until he admits that he is a paedophile.

I have to admit that it has taken me a good 45 mins after watching it, to work out what I thought of this film. It disturbed me, played with my emotions and my sense of horror all the time it was on. From the very start I was appalled at the actions of Jeff in grooming the young girl. It had me feeling uneasy and disgusted from the start. As the film went on though I found my horror at the young girl was just as bad!

All throughout the film it attempts to make you feel sympathy for someone that hasn't admitted to any wrong doing, and a lot of people on this site are pointing out that during certain scenes they feel sympathy with the character. Making the audience think like this is exactly what the director intended. The way that it has suckered people in during the castration scene when he denies that he is a molester so that they feel sympathy for him is testament to the great writing, direction and acting in this film. From the start of this film you know that Jeff is a bad a man, yet the film makes him out to be the victim right the way through. No matter which way you look at it he is the worst kind of person! It asks questions of you, like whether Jeff deserves what is happening to him, and these are really hard to work out, esp while watching the film when all you can concentrate on is the horror on the screen. I keep using the word horror because it is the one word that my mind keeps focusing on when I think about the aspects of this film. I know that the castration scene will live in my memory as much as the hobbling scene in misery!

It is definitely worth a watch just so that you can experience the emotional roller-coaster I feel that I went through. I can't help but think that those people that found themselves feeling sympathy for Jeff, really have to ask themselves some hard questions. Unlike many on here I found the writing to be excellent and the acting to be some of the finest I have seen.

I found that this was a very good and thought provoking movie. I thought the acting was excellent and the main plot line was well constructed and well thought out. It had one or two gruesome moments but overall was exciting and endearing at the same time. The characters where all believable and the violence was well....violent! :) I particularly liked the way Viggo Mortensen portrayed his character, he was calm and placid until his alter ego came out and then it was all go. It was very interesting to watch the change that occurred during the switch between gangster and family man, and i thought he carried it off well. Overall I enjoyed this film very much and can recommend it.

I really can't understand this. A lot of people on this site are saying that this is an intense psychological horror. For that to be true the film would need to build up the suspense and play with the viewers mind. This film does neither. The beginning 10 minutes introduce the characters and set them up to go diving. The rest of the movie is them bobbing in the water. Thats it. The dialogue is banal and does nothing to develop the characters who you end the film not knowing any more about them than you did after the first 10 minutes.

The suspense could have been created so easily with the threat of sharks attacking them, yet for vast portions of the film we were treated to the main characters simply bobbing around in the ocean. I realise that this is supposed to be based on a true story, but if you are going to do a fictional piece based with real events as inspiration, you at least need to make it entertaining. Otherwise do not market it as a psychological horror. I have to say that this was one of the most boring films I have ever sat through. I have only given it a two, because of the fact that you get a nudity shot during the first 10 mins :) but even that couldn't make me sit through this nightmare of a film again!

This was classic Sharpe and classic Sean Bean. Combining Bernard Cornwell's original three books set in India into one Sharpe film, and resetting it after the battle of Waterloo has done nothing to detract from the enjoyment I had from the latest adventures of Richard Sharpe. The plot has taken my favourite bits from all three books and melded them into a fast paced and exciting film.

The acting from both Sean Bean and Daragh O'Malley is up to its usual high standard and is laced with the timing and sardonic wit that has made the previous Sharpe films such a success. Toby Stephens as General Dodd also puts in an admirable and believable performance, and to his credit he had me disliking his character also immediately. The film has some of the best special effects that I have seen from the Sharpe films, especially the storming of the breach sequence and the blowing of the mine. I think some credit should also go to the stunt performers and extras as the effort with which they throw themselves around the set adds to the action segments and makes them much more enjoyable.

The only thing that I can possibly think that would detract from all the praise I have for this film would be the over showing of Lucy Brown's bosom which, although perfectly lovely and appreciated, was overall probably a tad unnecessary. Personally I just felt that there wasn't much need for it plot wise, and it was only there to titillate (excuse the pun)and sensationalise.

I have seen and read all that is Sharpe and can honestly say that this is one of the best Sharpe films. It will be appreciated by old and new fans alike. Hopefully we will get to see some of the other books that haven't yet made it to film produced now. Fingers crossed!