The Tesseract (2003)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Oxide Pang Chun

Writers:

Alex Garland (novel)
Patrick Neater (writer)

Release Date:

9 June 2005 (South Korea)

Genre:

Drama | Action | Crime

Plot:

A psychologist, an Englishman, a bellboy and a wounded female assasin have their fates crossed at a sleazy Bangkok hotel.

Plot Keywords:

Psychologist | Wounded | Bellboy | Drugs | Hotel

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Jonathan Rhys Meyers	...	Sean
Saskia Reeves	...	Rosa
Alexander Rendel	...	Wit
Carlo Nanni	...	Roy
Lena Christensen	...	Lita
Veradis Vinyarath	...	Sia Toh
Tunpicha Simasathen	...	Cat
Pitakpong Sillapasorn	...	Hea Mah
Larkana Vatanawongsiree	...	Fon
Somlee Phiboonpun	...	Hoi
Nimponth Chaisirikul	...	Hotel owner
Chalempron Kaprat	...	Tui
Wesley Homjan	...	Jo
Sorasak Phatumsiri	...	Sia Toh's men
Tawan Nomjun	...	Sia Toh's men

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, language, drug content and some sexuality.

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

Japan | Thailand | UK

Language:

English | Thai

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:18A (Ontario) | UK:15 | Iceland:16 | Netherlands:12 | South Korea:15 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-15 | USA:R

Company:

Artist Film

A case of style over content.

Oxide Pang's adaptation of Alex Garland's novel, The Tesseract, employs every visual trick in the book to disguise the lack of strong narrative. However, the glossy veneer soon wears thin, revealing a rather dull story which ultimately fails to impress.

Jonathan Rhys-Meyers plays a desperate drug runner embroiled in a deal that goes wrong, when his consignment mysteriously goes missing. The tale is told in a non-linear fashion that at first confuses but eventually becomes clearer to those viewers that stay the distance. The problem is that director Pang leaves it too late in the day to start filling in the blanks, by which time all but the most patient will have given up watching.

The film does get marginally better towards the end – but is it really worth the wait?