Reviews

It's rare to see such a great cast in such a strange movie. A must watch, definitely. In some scenes I had the feeling that actors were improvising, not bad. One might like it or hate it, no middle way.

No wonder this movie has so many awards. Very difficult for the actors and for the director to keep the public interested until the end of the story. So much suspense and heartbreaking. I will give ten stars to encourage the artists for the good job they did.

This movie will conquer the viewer because of its realism, and how it builds up to tension and mystery. It is worth seeing this feature for the paced story, realistic drama, good tale, and for the careful direction. By the end of the movie the audience is shocked because of the non predictable end, but satisfied that they saw a worthy realistic story which can really happen to anyone. You can also notice that is a independent movie, with few characters, maybe it has been shoot in Kentucky or something. The photography is not great, in my opinion is a little bit too dark, but it was OK, anyway. Very good cast and even if protagonists are not famous as Bruce Davison, Daryl Hannah and Tom Sizemore, they did well, especially the female which really had a very strong impact on the public for her performance. She had to deal with a mute role and she resulted very credible. There where moments when she broke my heart. Maybe I would have chosen for another type of husband, talking about the actor in the lead male role. I didn't feel pity for him as I supposed to do, anyway. I don't know which was the budget of this film, the scenic design lacks a little bit but is a very good harmony, anyway. I have recently seen the last movie of this director, Carlo Fusco and I think that he is getting really better with this movie, he combined arts with commercial.

Forest Whitaker exceeded himself with this performance and, in the reality, he practically made this feature. Even if the story is great, very realistic and violent, without his interpretation wouldn't worth as much. He changed a good story into a great one. You'll have in mind this story and Forest's acting performance all life long.

How strange to see a director that can create panic, hope, illusion, suspense, tears and tension almost in only one room, basically with only three actors. This movie deserved all the awards that has received! A lot of silence, still camera shots in order to create the idea of facing reality. Very good script, direction and good actors, too.

I really enjoyed this movie for the first half part of it. It was such a pity that, somehow, at a certain moment, much earlier than I should, I understood who was the guilty part of those crimes. It was like predictable for me, in a certain way. In my opinion, there was a story writing defect that first wanted to keep you all as surprise but then you could have a quite clear idea on what should come further. Very good interpretation of Renee, as usual.

When I saw that Forest directed a movie with Sandra Bullock playing the main role, I couldn't hold back.Even if Sandra tried to keep my interest with her acting, so did the little kid - had very good performance- I couldn't watch the movie for more than 40 minutes because it was such a terrible boring story with a really slow rhythm. I waited so much to see that something new and exciting happens but none. I cannot believe that Sandra accepted a role like this, I think it was for her friendship with the great Forest. Very good photography!

I am half Romanian and I believe that many people from Romania are not open minded, they don't understand that a movie is usually an act of fiction. What about Tarantino that used a French actress playing the Yacuza boss? I believe that this movie has many new elements for a movie made in East Europe. Photography is great, the plot runs good, it's not boring, the dialogues stop at the right time, there is action and suspense, it has a very unexpected end, too. Some actors are good, others great and it's amazing to see how Michael Madson feels comfortable in the Romanian countryside. There are some moments that made me laugh, the two young peasants are very funny. I think this film is a mix of drama, action, thriller, romance and comedy, all treated in a smooth way. The locations and the landscapes seemed to me like extrapolated from a romantic ballad, I liked the guitar , too; made contrast with the danger and the wickedness of the evil characters. Certainly, the cover of the DVD doesn't make justice at all, if you expect guns and bombs, this is not the right movie. As far as I know, especially in independent movies, many times it is not the director's or producer's choice, but the movie seller's. It is very hard for a Romanian featured film to be sold all over the world and this one did. Liked it!