Sidney Lumet is a name that i recognize instantly. So, a classic director. But then i start to wonder which of his movies i've seen. When i look here at IMDb i find that most of what i've seen and liked was made in the 1960's or 1970's. And after seeing this movie it certainly seems that Lumet has lost some of his touch. Although the writing department is perhaps even more to blame for this mess.
First off i called the movie a mess in the paragraph above. I can start here by saying that it's not half as bad as most other movies that i call a mess. This movie is just too messy for it's own good. There is one thing they just like too much, and that is to skip back and forth in time. It seems every time a scene in this movie starts to become interesting they freeze the frame and suddenly we jump three days back, or forward, in time. I can tell you that this didn't work for me. It's very seldom that this actually works, and it demands good writing. And good writing is seriously lacking here.
Bad scripts usually have a few things in common. First of all, a story that doesn't get you interested (check!), characters that are caricatures or paper-thin (check!), dialog that doesn't work (check! saying the f-word a thousand times is not a substitute for good dialog). And then of course we have the chopped-up time-line. Mostly though that is a symptom of bad writing rather than a major problem in itself. If the rest of the movie had been engaging, interesting and tight i could have accepted it.
Philip Seymour-Hoffman is a great actor. His character also has some potential although he never gets to realize it. Ethan Hawke is not an awful actor, but i still have serious dislike for him. And he (as usual) looks fifteen years old and completely lost. Albert Finney has perhaps the most thankless part of all, having a very emotional character that doesn't really get to develop at all.
I have complained a lot in this review, and for the most part i think it's well deserved. This is just not good workmanship. The movie is confused, poorly written and has characters that for the most part deserve a bullet in the face and are hard to sympathize with (Albert Finney's father is an exception). Mostly though this is a very bland movie which is also overly long. It could easily have been fifteen minutes shorter without detracting anything from the story or experience. This might work as light entertainment, although there are literally dozens of thrillers i would recommend over this one.
4/10.
First off i called the movie a mess in the paragraph above. I can start here by saying that it's not half as bad as most other movies that i call a mess. This movie is just too messy for it's own good. There is one thing they just like too much, and that is to skip back and forth in time. It seems every time a scene in this movie starts to become interesting they freeze the frame and suddenly we jump three days back, or forward, in time. I can tell you that this didn't work for me. It's very seldom that this actually works, and it demands good writing. And good writing is seriously lacking here.
Bad scripts usually have a few things in common. First of all, a story that doesn't get you interested (check!), characters that are caricatures or paper-thin (check!), dialog that doesn't work (check! saying the f-word a thousand times is not a substitute for good dialog). And then of course we have the chopped-up time-line. Mostly though that is a symptom of bad writing rather than a major problem in itself. If the rest of the movie had been engaging, interesting and tight i could have accepted it.
Philip Seymour-Hoffman is a great actor. His character also has some potential although he never gets to realize it. Ethan Hawke is not an awful actor, but i still have serious dislike for him. And he (as usual) looks fifteen years old and completely lost. Albert Finney has perhaps the most thankless part of all, having a very emotional character that doesn't really get to develop at all.
I have complained a lot in this review, and for the most part i think it's well deserved. This is just not good workmanship. The movie is confused, poorly written and has characters that for the most part deserve a bullet in the face and are hard to sympathize with (Albert Finney's father is an exception). Mostly though this is a very bland movie which is also overly long. It could easily have been fifteen minutes shorter without detracting anything from the story or experience. This might work as light entertainment, although there are literally dozens of thrillers i would recommend over this one.
4/10.