*********SPOILERS************
Let's face it; the movie fails and the actors (or at least one) know it. To Jennifer Connelly's credit she tried her best and at least had enough sense not to give up until the end. Too bad, even the greatest of intentions fail, as does this movie.
I'll not go into the contrived plot, terrible scriptwriting, or facetious dialogue. You can read the other comments for that. I also won't go into the ridiculous legal mumbo jumbo that obviously could have been corrected had anyone taken at least a first year class in contractual law. Of course, had they done that, they probably wouldn't have made the film...I wish. This film relies on the ignorance of the American public and for that the film is patronizing.
Specifically, I want to point to two things. First, the musical score was disturbing as much of the haunting measures were obviously taken from a 'Beautiful Mind.' It reminded me of a bad sequel. Shame on the musical composer. More importantly, the point when I simply couldn't take it anymore, was when they were sitting in the bathroom after the weirdo cop has them locked up and the boy is on the toilet. If you look closely, Ben Kingsley gives the exact same expression that he used countless times in Gandhi; that bright eyed quick smile. I'm amazed that the director didn't catch this. It was so obvious. It was at that point that I knew Mr. Kingsley was aware that he too was bereft of any hope of saving this plot. Thanks for letting me know, Ben. For your honesty, I'll give you another shot in your next film. But if you ever put me through another one like that, rest assured I'll relegate you to video. Please be more responsible. I'm sorry for Connelly too. She's a bright actress, and it is too bad she now has to carry this albatross around her neck. At least she's in good company.
Let's face it; the movie fails and the actors (or at least one) know it. To Jennifer Connelly's credit she tried her best and at least had enough sense not to give up until the end. Too bad, even the greatest of intentions fail, as does this movie.
I'll not go into the contrived plot, terrible scriptwriting, or facetious dialogue. You can read the other comments for that. I also won't go into the ridiculous legal mumbo jumbo that obviously could have been corrected had anyone taken at least a first year class in contractual law. Of course, had they done that, they probably wouldn't have made the film...I wish. This film relies on the ignorance of the American public and for that the film is patronizing.
Specifically, I want to point to two things. First, the musical score was disturbing as much of the haunting measures were obviously taken from a 'Beautiful Mind.' It reminded me of a bad sequel. Shame on the musical composer. More importantly, the point when I simply couldn't take it anymore, was when they were sitting in the bathroom after the weirdo cop has them locked up and the boy is on the toilet. If you look closely, Ben Kingsley gives the exact same expression that he used countless times in Gandhi; that bright eyed quick smile. I'm amazed that the director didn't catch this. It was so obvious. It was at that point that I knew Mr. Kingsley was aware that he too was bereft of any hope of saving this plot. Thanks for letting me know, Ben. For your honesty, I'll give you another shot in your next film. But if you ever put me through another one like that, rest assured I'll relegate you to video. Please be more responsible. I'm sorry for Connelly too. She's a bright actress, and it is too bad she now has to carry this albatross around her neck. At least she's in good company.