The only reason my husband I watched this is that we could see it for free with my Amazon Prime plan. That said, I'm glad we did.
This movie is not for the faint of heart. For example, within the first few minutes, a deranged "geek," who is supposedly part of a carnival act (but is actually a drug-addicted prisoner) bites the neck of a live chicken -- after pretending to calm it. I almost threw up. Now, I had to double-check with the AHA to ensure that no animal was actually harmed, and in fact, it says that a robotic chicken was used. Nonetheless, it sure looked real and was enough to send me running from the room.
Bradley plays "Stan," a troubled drifter/grifter who end up at a carnival show and gets a job. He quickly learns the lay of the land, and, after he learns some tricks about mind reading from "Pete," (David Strathairn, superb) and bags "electric girl" Molly (Rooney Mara), he ends up "reading minds" at posh clubs in the big city.
Let's say that things go south when he meets icy psychiatrist "Lilith" (Cate Blanchett, always perfect).
The film often times seems stagnant or slow or too talky. There were lots of moments when I said, "But... why? Wait, huh? No, he couldn't have known that. Why did he do that?" But, as is often the case in movies, one overlooks things as long as one is entertained.
Visually, this film is a masterpiece. I mean, there's a scene where Bradley's ice blue eyes are lit like they're dual Hope Diamonds. And other moments where Cate is lit and she looks like Veronica Lake with a shorter bob. And her lipstick! It was like someone great-grandma kept a vintage tube of Elizabeth Arden's "Victory Red." I mean, it was astonishing.
There were any number of character actors and they were all outstanding. Perhaps the best one was Richard Jenkins, who plays the incredibly evil Ezra Grindle (what a fantastic name). But honestly, all of the character actors were fantastic; it was worth watching the movie just to see them (Mary Steenburgen does an unbelievable turn as a wealthy grieving mother).
The story goes places you think it's going to, then goes places that will shock you. There are moments where you'll say, "Oh, c'mon!" And other moments where you'll say, "Oh, my God!"
Again, not for the weak of heart. There's a lot of cruelty and violence and lying and cheating going on. Someone is going to get hurt. You might predict the ending, but, actually you probably won't predict it exactly. It's a great moment when it arrives.
Uneven, but spectacular moments.
This movie is not for the faint of heart. For example, within the first few minutes, a deranged "geek," who is supposedly part of a carnival act (but is actually a drug-addicted prisoner) bites the neck of a live chicken -- after pretending to calm it. I almost threw up. Now, I had to double-check with the AHA to ensure that no animal was actually harmed, and in fact, it says that a robotic chicken was used. Nonetheless, it sure looked real and was enough to send me running from the room.
Bradley plays "Stan," a troubled drifter/grifter who end up at a carnival show and gets a job. He quickly learns the lay of the land, and, after he learns some tricks about mind reading from "Pete," (David Strathairn, superb) and bags "electric girl" Molly (Rooney Mara), he ends up "reading minds" at posh clubs in the big city.
Let's say that things go south when he meets icy psychiatrist "Lilith" (Cate Blanchett, always perfect).
The film often times seems stagnant or slow or too talky. There were lots of moments when I said, "But... why? Wait, huh? No, he couldn't have known that. Why did he do that?" But, as is often the case in movies, one overlooks things as long as one is entertained.
Visually, this film is a masterpiece. I mean, there's a scene where Bradley's ice blue eyes are lit like they're dual Hope Diamonds. And other moments where Cate is lit and she looks like Veronica Lake with a shorter bob. And her lipstick! It was like someone great-grandma kept a vintage tube of Elizabeth Arden's "Victory Red." I mean, it was astonishing.
There were any number of character actors and they were all outstanding. Perhaps the best one was Richard Jenkins, who plays the incredibly evil Ezra Grindle (what a fantastic name). But honestly, all of the character actors were fantastic; it was worth watching the movie just to see them (Mary Steenburgen does an unbelievable turn as a wealthy grieving mother).
The story goes places you think it's going to, then goes places that will shock you. There are moments where you'll say, "Oh, c'mon!" And other moments where you'll say, "Oh, my God!"
Again, not for the weak of heart. There's a lot of cruelty and violence and lying and cheating going on. Someone is going to get hurt. You might predict the ending, but, actually you probably won't predict it exactly. It's a great moment when it arrives.
Uneven, but spectacular moments.
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