It's All In The Details

Well, this was an interesting film. It is a dark, I will say double dark, comedy but not as dark as 1998's Very Bad Things. It also isn't as funny. I am not sure what too say about the film because overall the performances were all very good in the film. The lead was played by Tobey Maguire and the supporting cast was made up of Elizabeth Banks, Ray Liotta and Laura Linney. All very, very solid along with the rest of the cast that had smaller roles.

But while the performances were good and the film looked good on a technical level. The story didn't hold my attention. I basically checked out halfway through and I had to fight falling asleep. It really started to drag in the 2nd act and I felt that it never regained it's steam. The story itself had lots to say about what goes on underneath the surface of a person and the surface of a relationship. Those are good questions to ask and they are good topics for a film. The closest film I can think of that asks those questions is David Lynch's Blue Velvet. Now I know that it isn't at all fair of me to compare this film to Blue Velvet and I am not going to do that, other then to note the similarity of the overall issues that they share in terms of subject matter.

Tobey Maguire's character seems to be trying to do the right thing in life but things just seem to be getting worse and worse and spiraling out of his control. If we/he ever even had control to begin with. but that is a conversation left for another time and another film. This is a film that will leave you thinking and pondering the implications of the choices that the characters make. But it for sure is not a film for everyone and if you like your films to end all neat and tidy then this is not the film for you. It ends messy and with some unanswered questions....much like life does.

Much like the film left me, I can't tell you if I enjoyed it or not or even if I would recommend it too anyone except those who really want to see every Elizabeth Banks or Ray Liotta film. If you are a Tobey Maguire fan from the Spiderman films you would be wise to skip this one. It is rated R but basically that seems to be for language and a little bit of violence. There is no nudity though there is sexual activity and it is playing right now at Salem Cinema.