Yikes, what the hell happened to Atom Egoyan? Exotica and The Sweet Hereafter were superb, two of the first dvds I ever acquired. And I admire Ararat - it has a lot to say, is very well made and moving. And then to follow that, one of the best movies made lately about people's need to believe in things and be a part of something he makes - this? I'm perplexed.
It's not just that the writing here is much weaker, or that in this supposed mystery the first 90% is entirely predictable and the last 10% is just plain silly and almost impossible to believe. It's that plus the fact that his female lead's performance is ... well, I believed her in the role. I believed her in the role for maybe about 7 minutes in this entire film. Alison Lohman comes across as the 12th best actress in a 4th rate collegiate drama program. Honestly - her "acting" makes you want to giggle. I mean she's pretty, and that comes in handy when she's not wearing anything, but otherwise ...
So what are we left with? Colin Firth - good. Kevin Bacon - sure. The production design and look of the film and the way it's shot - all good too. I mean this is an Egoyan film. But the script - uh, as if, and the performance at the center of the film - best forgotten. If this is in your Netflix queue - delete it now.
Posted by armand at March 3, 2006 11:30 AM | TrackBack | Posted to Movies