Diaz has an enormous sensibility when it comes to portraying the mood and emotions of his characters through his use of time and setting. There are plenty of scenes where you just get a feeling of tender humanity, of quiet loneliness and bare compassion. It's an experience anyone who appreciates slow and meditative films will appreciate.
However, when it comes to the plot, during the last hour of the film the story drifts into complete nonsense. Gratuitous violence, last-minute twists, and a pretentious vagueness which doesn't fit the straightforwardness of the rest of the story. Matter of fact, I'm sure that if you cut all of that and end the film at the moment that Joaquin and Eliza reunite, you get a much more coherent and engaging story. Sure, Diaz wanted to explore some more themes, he wanted to make it more complex than a simple story of resilience, redemption and love. But he failed completely, and as far as I'm concerned the "simple" Crime and Punishment plot was working wonderfully up to that point.
However, when it comes to the plot, during the last hour of the film the story drifts into complete nonsense. Gratuitous violence, last-minute twists, and a pretentious vagueness which doesn't fit the straightforwardness of the rest of the story. Matter of fact, I'm sure that if you cut all of that and end the film at the moment that Joaquin and Eliza reunite, you get a much more coherent and engaging story. Sure, Diaz wanted to explore some more themes, he wanted to make it more complex than a simple story of resilience, redemption and love. But he failed completely, and as far as I'm concerned the "simple" Crime and Punishment plot was working wonderfully up to that point.