This is the sort of movie where you wonder if it's the script or the actors that make it all feel a tad lacklustre, the hallmark of a TV movie rather than one aiming higher. It's an OK watch if you are feeling lazy, because if you approach the piece with all your wits about you you'll probably quickly spot the flaws in various plans being laid, and thus spoil the fun. Definitely a convoluted tale, though not entirely unpredictable, and certainly it has a moment or two of originality as far as stories like this go. My real problem is that overall the movie sends a mixed message, especially in regard to justice versus karma. I liked some of the music and the way it synced with the story, and if there was tension, then it was in taking odds on the ending, which had a surprise roundness to it. I liked the film myself, and certainly parts were brave, but I'm also glad that it was made in 2006 and not today.
23 Reviews
surprisingly professional for a German production
honigbaer20 September 2007
I've read several reviews prior to watching the film and I really was afraid I could waste a lot of time with it and although I don't believe too much in reviews I was shocked about how bad they said the film was. However, before I read them I saw the trailer somewhere on the internet and I liked it. That's why I dared watching the movie and was rather pleasantly surprised with it. It's certainly no blockbuster but it's good entertainment and keeps interesting until the end. Especially since I'm German I'm proud of how good a German production can be nowadays compared to Hollywood movies (keep in mind the $7 million budget). Some said they considered the general as ridiculous, but he is a part of Angelina's psyche and I think it's rather obvious that victims of certain brutal crimes develop a psychic illness of some kind to bear with what they have experienced. So the biggest weakness, in my opinion, is the clearly audible German accent of Til Schweiger, but I rather smiled about it and had a good time nonetheless.
Brother-in-law
jotix10010 August 2009
Warning: Spoilers
The young advertising executive Eddie Schneider is am ambitious man. He has an appetite for sex as well, and this will get him in hot water, sooner rather than later. He is living with Judy Birk, the daughter of his boss at the agency. Little does she realize what goes on with her young stud when he leaves their place!
Eddie's popularity ultimately gets him in trouble. His future brother-in-law, Anthony Birk, who has had Eddie followed, has gathered enough evidence to end his engagement. Anthony also has eyes for Eddie's assistant and one-time interest, Angelina Sable, who he wants to bed. Angelina, a young woman fighting the demons of having gone through a rape when she was a teenager, proves to be the wrong person for Anthony to mess with. When Anthony turns dead, Eddie turns against Angelina, something he will later regret, since only the girl knows what really is going on.
"One Way", written and directed by Reto Sambileni, is a film which pretends to have been made in New York, but just by looking at it, one realizes it was filmed in different parts of the world, with some exterior photography to give the impression this was American. Then, there is the performance of Til Schweiger, an intense German actor, that tries hard to give the impression he is the slick New Yorker, he is not. Mr. Schweiger bears an uncanny resemblance to Anderson Cooper, minus the gray hair.
The actors, mainly Canadians, do what they can with the thin material they were given to perform. Eric Roberts is one of the lucky ones with his defense lawyer. Sebastien Roberts, who plays Anthony, has some good moments. Lauren Lee Smith, is not quite convincing as Angelina, the girl with a dark past. There is an absurd prologue involving a young Angelina as she is being hunted by some youths, as a US general comes to make things right for her.
Eddie's popularity ultimately gets him in trouble. His future brother-in-law, Anthony Birk, who has had Eddie followed, has gathered enough evidence to end his engagement. Anthony also has eyes for Eddie's assistant and one-time interest, Angelina Sable, who he wants to bed. Angelina, a young woman fighting the demons of having gone through a rape when she was a teenager, proves to be the wrong person for Anthony to mess with. When Anthony turns dead, Eddie turns against Angelina, something he will later regret, since only the girl knows what really is going on.
"One Way", written and directed by Reto Sambileni, is a film which pretends to have been made in New York, but just by looking at it, one realizes it was filmed in different parts of the world, with some exterior photography to give the impression this was American. Then, there is the performance of Til Schweiger, an intense German actor, that tries hard to give the impression he is the slick New Yorker, he is not. Mr. Schweiger bears an uncanny resemblance to Anderson Cooper, minus the gray hair.
The actors, mainly Canadians, do what they can with the thin material they were given to perform. Eric Roberts is one of the lucky ones with his defense lawyer. Sebastien Roberts, who plays Anthony, has some good moments. Lauren Lee Smith, is not quite convincing as Angelina, the girl with a dark past. There is an absurd prologue involving a young Angelina as she is being hunted by some youths, as a US general comes to make things right for her.
A movie that asks the important question...which is worse, Til Schweiger's acting or getting raped with a strap-on?
MBunge26 July 2010
Warning: Spoilers
This movie starts out with Michael Clarke Duncan playing a black, militarized version of Harvey the Invisible Rabbit. It goes on to introduce us to a main character that is a cheating, arrogant weakling. A perfectly fine young woman is brutally raped with her clothes on and THEN we see her naked in the shower. Three cops show up who appear to have learned everything they know about police work from the Erik Estrada Correspondence School of Law Enforcement. Eric Roberts pops by as a lobotomized version of Perry Mason. Oh, and this film also features one of the rare non-porn appearances of a strap-on dildo. If that all sounds like something you'd like to watch, put down the meth and go eat an orange.
The plot of One Way is rather involved but I'm not going to get into it in too much detail. That's because this story is like running on a treadmill while falling down the side of a mountain. It feels like you're stuck in the same spot and careening wildly out of control at the same time. Anyway, here's the basics of it. Eddie Schneider (Til Schweiger) wants to marry Judy Birk (Stefanie von Pfetten), his boss's daughter. His professed love for Judy, however, doesn't stop Eddie from banging as many other women as his unit can handle. Eddie is an extremely talented and extremely self-destructive a-hole. He's the sort of guy who makes himself late for the most important business meeting of his life because Eddie just has to get a morning quickie from an anonymous red head, then incorporates his being late into the pitch that lands the company a big client.
Judy's brother Anthony (Sebastien Roberts) finds out that Eddie is a cheating bastard. He doesn't tell Judy or their parents. He doesn't confront Eddie. No, Anthony decides that it gives him an excuse to rape Eddie's friend and assistant, Angelina Sable (Lauren Lee Smith). Only after that does Anthony blackmail Eddie with evidence of his cheating. Eddie lies in court about Angelina to get Eddie acquitted. But in a case of leaden irony, Judy finds out about Eddie's infidelity on her own and breaks up with him, which leads to her father firing Eddie.
Ugh. I've already gone into more detail than this thing merits. To wrap things up - Angelina starts hallucinating; Anthony winds up dead; Eddie is put on trial; the story bounces back and forth from being about vigilantism to personal redemption to familial dysfunction; and Judy reveals herself to be one of those women with colossally bad taste in men.
The acting in One Way is okay. Lauren Lee Smith is fairly good as Angelina until the character gets saddled with a mental condition and Stefanie von Pfetten is appealing as one of the wimpiest empowered women you'll ever see. Til Schweiger is well, he's Til Schweiger. If you like the stuff Til Schweiger does, you'll find Til Schweiger doing it here. The rest of the cast is asked to do too many ridiculous scenes and speak too much bad dialog to fairly evaluate their performances.
The direction is also okay, but it's a little disturbing that the best staged and most affective scene is the rape of Angelina and the worst staged, least affective scene is the revenge rape of Anthony. I mean, writer/director Reto Salimbeni can only make the rape of Anthony work by equating being handcuffed with being paralyzed from the waist down, which creepily makes it seem as though he put much less thought into it than he did with the more realistic violation of Angelina.
One Way certainly has narrative ambitions. It's trying to take on subjects of morality, ethics and responsibility. Unfortunately, those concepts aren't addressed with much talent or skill. It's a little like listening to a 6 year old try and tell you what War and Peace is all about.
There are moments in One Way that make you think that this film might have turned out better in an alternate dimension where radical changes were made to the script. We can only watch the movie that was made in this dimension, though, and that's not something anyone really needs to do.
The plot of One Way is rather involved but I'm not going to get into it in too much detail. That's because this story is like running on a treadmill while falling down the side of a mountain. It feels like you're stuck in the same spot and careening wildly out of control at the same time. Anyway, here's the basics of it. Eddie Schneider (Til Schweiger) wants to marry Judy Birk (Stefanie von Pfetten), his boss's daughter. His professed love for Judy, however, doesn't stop Eddie from banging as many other women as his unit can handle. Eddie is an extremely talented and extremely self-destructive a-hole. He's the sort of guy who makes himself late for the most important business meeting of his life because Eddie just has to get a morning quickie from an anonymous red head, then incorporates his being late into the pitch that lands the company a big client.
Judy's brother Anthony (Sebastien Roberts) finds out that Eddie is a cheating bastard. He doesn't tell Judy or their parents. He doesn't confront Eddie. No, Anthony decides that it gives him an excuse to rape Eddie's friend and assistant, Angelina Sable (Lauren Lee Smith). Only after that does Anthony blackmail Eddie with evidence of his cheating. Eddie lies in court about Angelina to get Eddie acquitted. But in a case of leaden irony, Judy finds out about Eddie's infidelity on her own and breaks up with him, which leads to her father firing Eddie.
Ugh. I've already gone into more detail than this thing merits. To wrap things up - Angelina starts hallucinating; Anthony winds up dead; Eddie is put on trial; the story bounces back and forth from being about vigilantism to personal redemption to familial dysfunction; and Judy reveals herself to be one of those women with colossally bad taste in men.
The acting in One Way is okay. Lauren Lee Smith is fairly good as Angelina until the character gets saddled with a mental condition and Stefanie von Pfetten is appealing as one of the wimpiest empowered women you'll ever see. Til Schweiger is well, he's Til Schweiger. If you like the stuff Til Schweiger does, you'll find Til Schweiger doing it here. The rest of the cast is asked to do too many ridiculous scenes and speak too much bad dialog to fairly evaluate their performances.
The direction is also okay, but it's a little disturbing that the best staged and most affective scene is the rape of Angelina and the worst staged, least affective scene is the revenge rape of Anthony. I mean, writer/director Reto Salimbeni can only make the rape of Anthony work by equating being handcuffed with being paralyzed from the waist down, which creepily makes it seem as though he put much less thought into it than he did with the more realistic violation of Angelina.
One Way certainly has narrative ambitions. It's trying to take on subjects of morality, ethics and responsibility. Unfortunately, those concepts aren't addressed with much talent or skill. It's a little like listening to a 6 year old try and tell you what War and Peace is all about.
There are moments in One Way that make you think that this film might have turned out better in an alternate dimension where radical changes were made to the script. We can only watch the movie that was made in this dimension, though, and that's not something anyone really needs to do.
Til Schweiger takes a more interesting career turn
offenes_meer4 February 2007
hmmmm, yesss. From the statistics I read that US females over 30 did not like this film. Whereas the younger audience especially in Europe was thrilled. Why would this be so? The film is about rape and about revenge and how the victim feels and into what kind of situation she gets put by her surroundings. Seeing how things are, the US are very ambivalent about sexual themes. Not to say 'hypocritical'. Judging from the themes feministic theory in the US put forward in the 70ies and 80ies sexual oppression and violence are very much more of a problem when they cannot be voiced at all. This may have been different in Europe with a more liberal approach in many countries (well, not all, I believe...). Anyway, this might explain, why a film like 'One Way' will not be received so open-heartedly in the US - it is painful. And it shows parents in their relationship to their children in a very painful way. Maybe this also explains the distaste of 'elderly women' (to phrase it this way without actually implying criticism).
This much for the background. The film itself is a treat in that it shows a comparatively new side of Til Schweiger as a 'real' actor besides the many comedian roles he has played - actually one of those bought him his ticket to the film world: 'Manta, Manta'. He played in some more serious films before: "The Ice Bear" (Der Eisbaer) and "Knocking on Heaven's Door", but even his last flick in 2006 "Where is Fred" (Wo ist Fred) was a comedy - not bad (and including some hilarious stunts by Christoph Maria Herbst and beautiful Anna Maria Lara) - but not really a revelation. Also the film puts him in context with many other good actors, especially Lauren Lee Smith. For a while Schweiger has been directing and/or producing his own films - maybe because this was the way of getting a job at all? I hope not - rather do I hope that he will some time tread in the footsteps of Clint Eastwood, Robert Redford etc.
I will leave the comments to the film itself to the other two I have seen posted. Just this: it is a dark film, giving rise to hope, nevertheless. And it does show many things to make people thoughtful - and I do hope this makes them like the film rather than dislike (which would be the far more easy thing to do).
This much for the background. The film itself is a treat in that it shows a comparatively new side of Til Schweiger as a 'real' actor besides the many comedian roles he has played - actually one of those bought him his ticket to the film world: 'Manta, Manta'. He played in some more serious films before: "The Ice Bear" (Der Eisbaer) and "Knocking on Heaven's Door", but even his last flick in 2006 "Where is Fred" (Wo ist Fred) was a comedy - not bad (and including some hilarious stunts by Christoph Maria Herbst and beautiful Anna Maria Lara) - but not really a revelation. Also the film puts him in context with many other good actors, especially Lauren Lee Smith. For a while Schweiger has been directing and/or producing his own films - maybe because this was the way of getting a job at all? I hope not - rather do I hope that he will some time tread in the footsteps of Clint Eastwood, Robert Redford etc.
I will leave the comments to the film itself to the other two I have seen posted. Just this: it is a dark film, giving rise to hope, nevertheless. And it does show many things to make people thoughtful - and I do hope this makes them like the film rather than dislike (which would be the far more easy thing to do).
Sadly Disappointing
Yva-Laz-Vegas19 February 2007
Warning: Spoilers
I'm afraid this film is rather bad. I just went to see it yesterday and was surprised it was given a cinema release.
I am a strong supporter of independent film and especially of Swiss directors, but this film sadly never gets out of C-Movie territory.
The story itself has the makings of a fantastic movie, the themes of violence against women, betrayal and revenge are topics of enduring interest.
I am normally delighted to see European (in this case German) actors participating in international films which will showcase them to a wider audience. I'm well acquainted with Til Schweigers work, but I thought his acting was awful in this film, full of clichés and hamminess. He was even better in King Arthur (another bad film) where he only had a few sentences of dialogue. Even though he was typecast as a villain in that one, his acting was miles better than in this latest offering.The supporting cast were also pretty bad in this film, especially the guys who played the boss of the advertising agency and his son, they were just awful.
The filming of the violent attacks were needlessly graphic in this case and did not lend to the gravitas of the film. Other films have done this in a much more poignant(or relevant) manner e.g. Lilja-4-Ever, The Accused, Boys Don't Cry, Irreversible...etc. etc.
The whole concept of the victim introducing an imaginary hero to help her cope with the trauma of rape didn't work at all in this instance and I thought this was a very weak point in the script and it's direction.
The plot of the film is actually very interesting material, and if worked with in another way, could have been great. I intend no disrespect towards the makers of this film, as releases like these are normally a labour of love and an awful lot of very hard work goes into them, but i cannot give this film a good rating as it simply badly executed.
I am a strong supporter of independent film and especially of Swiss directors, but this film sadly never gets out of C-Movie territory.
The story itself has the makings of a fantastic movie, the themes of violence against women, betrayal and revenge are topics of enduring interest.
I am normally delighted to see European (in this case German) actors participating in international films which will showcase them to a wider audience. I'm well acquainted with Til Schweigers work, but I thought his acting was awful in this film, full of clichés and hamminess. He was even better in King Arthur (another bad film) where he only had a few sentences of dialogue. Even though he was typecast as a villain in that one, his acting was miles better than in this latest offering.The supporting cast were also pretty bad in this film, especially the guys who played the boss of the advertising agency and his son, they were just awful.
The filming of the violent attacks were needlessly graphic in this case and did not lend to the gravitas of the film. Other films have done this in a much more poignant(or relevant) manner e.g. Lilja-4-Ever, The Accused, Boys Don't Cry, Irreversible...etc. etc.
The whole concept of the victim introducing an imaginary hero to help her cope with the trauma of rape didn't work at all in this instance and I thought this was a very weak point in the script and it's direction.
The plot of the film is actually very interesting material, and if worked with in another way, could have been great. I intend no disrespect towards the makers of this film, as releases like these are normally a labour of love and an awful lot of very hard work goes into them, but i cannot give this film a good rating as it simply badly executed.
Til Schweigers movie "One Way" let you feel the pain
martecormann25 January 2007
My husband and I saw "One Way", the new movie of the German actor Til Schweiger. There were no coughing, no feet-stamping and no murmurs to hear during the whole movie. Even at the end the silence continued. Than my husband broke it, saying: "Man, what a good movie was that!" The story and the pictures are very intense. They catch the viewer's whole attention which you can hardly escape.
The topic of the movie is rape. It's about guilt and atonement.About law, morals and justice.
In a today's criticism I read the sentence: "Sometimes it is the start of a movie that gives rise to doubts. In "One Way", the movie of the Swiss Reto Salimbini, a girl is followed by several men and raped brutally, as a black figure wearing a uniform (Michael Clareke Duncan) appears and butchers the wrongdoers with a machine gun. The plot changes from this revenge-fantasy to the New Yorker world of the publicity expert Eddie (Til Schweiger) " Now I ask myself seriously: What is so disconcerting about the imagination that the victim imagines the death of the men that are raping her? Isn't it even understandable somehow? The visualization in the movie makes the fantasy visible for the viewers - and uncomfortable. "One Way" is consequently shown from the rape victim's point of view, which is definitely not a daily mean.
In an other criticism it is said that the rape scenes are shown very drastically. So I watched them critically. My judgment: I have seen more drastically rape scenes in movies and on television before. But what is really hard to the spectator is - during the whole rape the camera is filming the victim's face. Vivid, oppressive and frightening.
The pictures do not allow any evading and phrases like " somehow she wanted that, too " or "It's not as bad as it seems " are absolutely wrong and out of place. The victim is injured with great physical and psychological pain.
Is it a woman allowed to take revenge if she has been raped, humiliated and emotionally killed? If she can't trust her pretending best friend or in justice? In "One Way" two raped and humiliated women experience emotional justice in the end and an initial slime ball develops into a better man. This is more than reality can (unfortunatly) sometimes offer.
Fill the movie theaters and watch it! It's worth it! Marte Cormann, www.kinoplausch.de
The topic of the movie is rape. It's about guilt and atonement.About law, morals and justice.
In a today's criticism I read the sentence: "Sometimes it is the start of a movie that gives rise to doubts. In "One Way", the movie of the Swiss Reto Salimbini, a girl is followed by several men and raped brutally, as a black figure wearing a uniform (Michael Clareke Duncan) appears and butchers the wrongdoers with a machine gun. The plot changes from this revenge-fantasy to the New Yorker world of the publicity expert Eddie (Til Schweiger) " Now I ask myself seriously: What is so disconcerting about the imagination that the victim imagines the death of the men that are raping her? Isn't it even understandable somehow? The visualization in the movie makes the fantasy visible for the viewers - and uncomfortable. "One Way" is consequently shown from the rape victim's point of view, which is definitely not a daily mean.
In an other criticism it is said that the rape scenes are shown very drastically. So I watched them critically. My judgment: I have seen more drastically rape scenes in movies and on television before. But what is really hard to the spectator is - during the whole rape the camera is filming the victim's face. Vivid, oppressive and frightening.
The pictures do not allow any evading and phrases like " somehow she wanted that, too " or "It's not as bad as it seems " are absolutely wrong and out of place. The victim is injured with great physical and psychological pain.
Is it a woman allowed to take revenge if she has been raped, humiliated and emotionally killed? If she can't trust her pretending best friend or in justice? In "One Way" two raped and humiliated women experience emotional justice in the end and an initial slime ball develops into a better man. This is more than reality can (unfortunatly) sometimes offer.
Fill the movie theaters and watch it! It's worth it! Marte Cormann, www.kinoplausch.de
Dumb movie!!
svader23 February 2022
Terrible acting, stupid script and too many inaccuracies to mention.
Detective interviews a victim in the corridor of a hospital full of stiletto heel wearing doctors. Then discusses what jail time the perpetrator may receive. All less than a day after the attack.
Not sure what the 9s and 10s are. Maybe it's just me or we have moved on since 2006.
Detective interviews a victim in the corridor of a hospital full of stiletto heel wearing doctors. Then discusses what jail time the perpetrator may receive. All less than a day after the attack.
Not sure what the 9s and 10s are. Maybe it's just me or we have moved on since 2006.
go watch something else... anything else.
zastava12 February 2007
Warning: Spoilers
the trailer was able to catch my attention... but what i didn't expect was to see a brutal rape in a 10-min-scene. what were they thinking? (why) did we have to watch that?? the rape scene is important for the story - but they could have told the audience that one had happened or just adumbrate one, instead of forcing the viewers to watch that brutality without a warning.
without that particular scene, the film wouldn't be so bad, but probably a waste of valuable life time anyway.
in the end we all left angry and full of aggressions.
don't watch this film, you will regret it.
without that particular scene, the film wouldn't be so bad, but probably a waste of valuable life time anyway.
in the end we all left angry and full of aggressions.
don't watch this film, you will regret it.
Perjuries, Ambition, Family Secret and Truth
claudio_carvalho9 April 2008
Warning: Spoilers
In New York, the competent creative director of Birk Advertising Eddie Schneider (Til Schweiger) is living a successful moment of his professional life and is engaged and has just proposed Judy Birk (Stefanie von Pfetten), the daughter of the owner of the company where he works. Eddie is also a wolf and very successful with many women, and is having an affair with a neighbor of the street where he lives with Judy. When he gets the account of the greatest American airline for his company, he is promoted to partner and he celebrates with his assistant and friend Angelina Sable (Lauren Lee Smith) in a lunch party in a restaurant. After hours, when they are in the garage, Angeline notes that she had forgotten her car keys in the office, and when she returns, she is violently raped by the despicable brother of Judy, Anthony Birk (Sebastien Roberts). On the next morning, when Eddie arrives in the garage, he finds the traumatized Angeline on the floor and he takes her to a hospital. He returns to the company and Anthony blackmails Eddie with pictures of his many affairs. Eddie has to take a side between his career and engagement and his friendship with Angeline.
"One Way" is a great movie supported by a magnificent screenplay that uses elements of thriller, crime, drama and even soap opera. The intriguing beginning, with a girl being gang raped by four teenagers and an enigmatic general rescuing her is absolutely original and brilliantly explains the character and traumas of Angeline, magnificently performed by Lauren Lee Smith. Sebastien Roberts is perfect in the role of a cynical scum and I confess that I loved when Angeline uses a sexual device to rape him. Til Schweiger has also a great performance in the role of an ambiguous character divided between his career and the loyalty for his friend, but he redeems in the end refusing to blame Angeline. The sweet Stefanie von Pfetten fits perfectly to her characters and her confession about a family secret in the end is the great twist of this movie. Eric Roberts has a minor but efficient participation in the role of Eddie's lawyer. In the end, I really liked "One Way" a lot and I do not understand why it is so underrated in IMDb User Rating. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "Pacto Quebrado" ("Broken Pact")
"One Way" is a great movie supported by a magnificent screenplay that uses elements of thriller, crime, drama and even soap opera. The intriguing beginning, with a girl being gang raped by four teenagers and an enigmatic general rescuing her is absolutely original and brilliantly explains the character and traumas of Angeline, magnificently performed by Lauren Lee Smith. Sebastien Roberts is perfect in the role of a cynical scum and I confess that I loved when Angeline uses a sexual device to rape him. Til Schweiger has also a great performance in the role of an ambiguous character divided between his career and the loyalty for his friend, but he redeems in the end refusing to blame Angeline. The sweet Stefanie von Pfetten fits perfectly to her characters and her confession about a family secret in the end is the great twist of this movie. Eric Roberts has a minor but efficient participation in the role of Eddie's lawyer. In the end, I really liked "One Way" a lot and I do not understand why it is so underrated in IMDb User Rating. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "Pacto Quebrado" ("Broken Pact")
Too many BIG holes to be an 8-9-10 movie
roger_towne1 February 2022
Warning: Spoilers
First, you don't have to be in the ad-agency business to know the first scene is a laugher. No bigtime corporate CEO will tolerate the crap you see during that early conference room scene. Nor would he/she "say how he feels" in front of a room full of key business people, never mind a guy who's enraged him/her. Nevermind be enraptured by those pompass theatrics. To the contrary, folks become CEOs of multinationals by constantly fighting through a dog-eat-dog world and coming out on top.
It's obvious Reto Salimbeni has no idea how it works the real life corporate business world. Especially when you're talking "biggest airline in the world" that's very likely to be as cut-throat and intimidatingly serious as the military. Yet Salimbeni not only portrays this CEO as weak dumbass early on, but re-emphasizes the point later in the movie by depicting him as an enjoyingly gullible moron swept by Eddie's theatrics again, albeit mistakenly. Cripes.
Secondly, just is absurd is the notion a devout nun would set aside her lifetime's work and profound belief systems to lie against her holy maker for the sake of taking care of a wronged girl she just told will eventually find her peace. Worse, Reto Salimbeni doesn't established any credibilty in the movie for this scene to be remotely believable in any way shape or form.
Third, moving past the cliches and predictability, the courtroom twist at the end was a nice effort to distract from these holes. But following that we see Angelina running off to a new life as a contently smiling new woman, even though her cruel life experience and subsequent demons led her to be an addictive drug user and eventual killer. Regardless of whether the guy deserved it, still not good message to send that killing someone and running away from your problems leads to ultimate peace. Yawn.
Then again, maybe this is why Reto Salimbeni has one movie writing credit to his career ... and one feature movie. Overall, good thriller for an 8-year old. But not for a sophisticated audience nevermind anyone who appreciates good films. The fact it's getting all these 8-9-10 ratings on IMBD just shows how unreliable these ratings have become.
It's obvious Reto Salimbeni has no idea how it works the real life corporate business world. Especially when you're talking "biggest airline in the world" that's very likely to be as cut-throat and intimidatingly serious as the military. Yet Salimbeni not only portrays this CEO as weak dumbass early on, but re-emphasizes the point later in the movie by depicting him as an enjoyingly gullible moron swept by Eddie's theatrics again, albeit mistakenly. Cripes.
Secondly, just is absurd is the notion a devout nun would set aside her lifetime's work and profound belief systems to lie against her holy maker for the sake of taking care of a wronged girl she just told will eventually find her peace. Worse, Reto Salimbeni doesn't established any credibilty in the movie for this scene to be remotely believable in any way shape or form.
Third, moving past the cliches and predictability, the courtroom twist at the end was a nice effort to distract from these holes. But following that we see Angelina running off to a new life as a contently smiling new woman, even though her cruel life experience and subsequent demons led her to be an addictive drug user and eventual killer. Regardless of whether the guy deserved it, still not good message to send that killing someone and running away from your problems leads to ultimate peace. Yawn.
Then again, maybe this is why Reto Salimbeni has one movie writing credit to his career ... and one feature movie. Overall, good thriller for an 8-year old. But not for a sophisticated audience nevermind anyone who appreciates good films. The fact it's getting all these 8-9-10 ratings on IMBD just shows how unreliable these ratings have become.
A very good and must see movie
jdroa30 June 2008
i found it a very good and interesting movie which i did not expect, when i started playing this, i couldn't stop myself continue playing because of a good run of the story. i just planned to see only the start of the movie but i finished it, i don't know, maybe it was the good story. i recommend this for those who have not watched yet. the beauties of two young ladies, Judy and Angelina are a plus! the story will not astray you like those other movies. i like all the casts here and they acted professionally, i was sad and happy in the end.
Actually i am not that familiar of these casts because i am an avid war movie fan, but if you watch this seriously (must be) because this is a serious movie with just a short comedy of course, you will be educated on some sort of morality, honesty and fidelity i think this movie earned a fans from matured viewers.
Actually i am not that familiar of these casts because i am an avid war movie fan, but if you watch this seriously (must be) because this is a serious movie with just a short comedy of course, you will be educated on some sort of morality, honesty and fidelity i think this movie earned a fans from matured viewers.
Top movie
criticeye19 August 2011
One Way is a unique film focusing on emotional justice – it's about knowledge that everybody carries inside – about what is right and wrong. Unfortunately being right doesn't equal being given justice. Especially when it comes to women's abuse, there is a huge discrepancy between what people feel the deserved punishment would be and what sentences the legal system gives. One Way is an intense film, that portrays betrayal, violence against woman and friendship. Taking this into consideration, it's a miracle that at the end of the film there is positive hope for the protagonists that they'll face a better future. An unpredictable story, that keeps the tension rising till the last shot. Me and my wife saw it together and spoke about it the whole evening. It's out on DVD now... check it out!
simply great
Jaikov27 January 2007
Very strong & deep movie. As obsessed moviegoer, I rarely give 10 points. But this time I just can't find anything to deduct. Story, cast of characters, camera work, music, locations etc. everything was simply excellent. Be prepared, that the beginning of the film is somewhat shocking. But this scene plays an important role to understand the psychological factors of the development of the plot and its main characters. This film does not only play at the surface on perpetual themes of life, it's far going beyond. A felicitous mixture of love & hate, power & justice, confidence & friendship, cohesion & extortion are the successful recipes for this extraordinary script.
Very good movie.....rape scenes are amazingly credible!
sebroberts4-117 April 2007
I enjoyed this movie very much, I like that as the plot unfolds we are thrown many curve balls that catch us by surprise and keep us in our seats. I was impressed with most of the acting (especially the villain)Anthony Birk played by Sebastien Roberts. I didn't know him before so I don't know if he plays villains often but man is he nasty!! I love Eric Roberts, I thought he was great but I was expecting to see him a lot more. I wasn't certain about (the General) character played by Micheal Clark Duncan but in the end it works.The only thing that bothered me in this movie was the overwhelming violence in the opening scene, I thought that was a little much. Definitely a movie to see.
Marc
Marc
Commercial Director
mattlovesmovies-0079614 November 2022
Warning: Spoilers
The director of the film Reto Salimbeni is from commercials and it shows in the film, as the locations, clothing and the music is often a bit too slick and stylish. But this makes the film different from other films in the same genre, like The Brave One or Death Wish. One Way focuses on the dilemma of the lead figure, an ad executive that has to decide if he should help a friend that was violated and testify in court against a work mate - son of the boss, or if he should say nothing - therefore benefitting his career. I found it very interesting to see such a story out of the perspective of the victim's friend. It shows that such crimes have terrible consequences for the victim's, but also can be difficult for the people around them. I guess the moral of the story is to stay loyal to your friends or you could end up in prison... I recommend watching this movie - it get's you thinking.
A different and interesting movie.
lisaford-0007816 December 2022
A different and interesting movie. I saw this film recently on TV when I was travelling in Europe. Found it a bit odd that it was in English - didn't know any of the actors. But i'ts interesting that they show a female victim that fights back at her aggressor. Her revenge on him is perhaps a bit extreme, but in a way it made me think about the situation of sexually abused women and why men get often away with crimes like that. Overall I would describe the film as Intense, certainly not for having a pop-corn night, but I still would recommend to watch its because it's quite different and interesting.
"One Way" (2006) is an excellent film that you will want to come your way.
Len987619 August 2008
Warning: Spoilers
From the start of the film, the audience knows that this is going to be a complex, and not a simple who-dun-it. The audience is enlightened by the completely truthful depiction of rape as violent. Beyond lust or sexual molestation, rape is brutal and violent. It is not at all uncommon for the victim to wish the rapist(s), and any accomplices, dead. To survive, the victim must initially fantasize a murder of the perpetrator(s), and holds on to a strong feeling of revenge.
There is the wealth and power of the Birk family, who maintains a 'we against them' philosophy to cover-up any corruption, and to protect each member of the immediate family. A strong matriarch and patriarch holds the family together, no matter what. Somehow, I think the entire family knew about the evil deeds of the son, but protects him anyway, with the help of corporate lawyer with a track record of winning most, if not all, of his cases. The son engages in blackmail, to selfishly hold onto the Birk fortune (he covets wealth, at any cost). Things get so chaotic and heated that, towards the end of the film, the daughter is pitted against the son, even after he is sexually violated (here, one of the victims gets her moments of revenge), and shot to death. But, has justice been served?
I will not give any more details because I do not ruin the excitement and thrills of the film. If you are like me, the film will hold you on the edge of your seat. The film is riveting.
I was disappointed that the film has a rather bittersweet ending. I so much prefer happy endings. But, the film is true to life. Yes, life does have its compensations. Unfortunately, however, there may be some harsh realities and shattered dreams. In the end, do the victims win? And, will the perpetrator(s) be brought to justice? Is there equality and fairness in the judgments made? Does life go on after injustice and rape? Find out the answers, to at least some of these questions, by seeing this very worthwhile film, which really makes you think about the issues surrounding corporate power, cover-ups and corruption, the judicial system, ethics, morality, rape, status and wealth, etcetera.
This film is a must-see, and I rank it a 10 out of 10. The ensemble cast is superb, as is the direction and writing by Reto Salimbeni. The editing is well executed, and the music aptly adds to the film's mystery, suspense and tension--which constantly builds and increases the tautness of the spellbinding thrills of this crime drama. I hope that we will see more of these fine actors, including Eric Roberts.
There is the wealth and power of the Birk family, who maintains a 'we against them' philosophy to cover-up any corruption, and to protect each member of the immediate family. A strong matriarch and patriarch holds the family together, no matter what. Somehow, I think the entire family knew about the evil deeds of the son, but protects him anyway, with the help of corporate lawyer with a track record of winning most, if not all, of his cases. The son engages in blackmail, to selfishly hold onto the Birk fortune (he covets wealth, at any cost). Things get so chaotic and heated that, towards the end of the film, the daughter is pitted against the son, even after he is sexually violated (here, one of the victims gets her moments of revenge), and shot to death. But, has justice been served?
I will not give any more details because I do not ruin the excitement and thrills of the film. If you are like me, the film will hold you on the edge of your seat. The film is riveting.
I was disappointed that the film has a rather bittersweet ending. I so much prefer happy endings. But, the film is true to life. Yes, life does have its compensations. Unfortunately, however, there may be some harsh realities and shattered dreams. In the end, do the victims win? And, will the perpetrator(s) be brought to justice? Is there equality and fairness in the judgments made? Does life go on after injustice and rape? Find out the answers, to at least some of these questions, by seeing this very worthwhile film, which really makes you think about the issues surrounding corporate power, cover-ups and corruption, the judicial system, ethics, morality, rape, status and wealth, etcetera.
This film is a must-see, and I rank it a 10 out of 10. The ensemble cast is superb, as is the direction and writing by Reto Salimbeni. The editing is well executed, and the music aptly adds to the film's mystery, suspense and tension--which constantly builds and increases the tautness of the spellbinding thrills of this crime drama. I hope that we will see more of these fine actors, including Eric Roberts.
Unique, excellent, unpredictable thriller
NateWatchesCoolMovies10 August 2015
One Way is an interesting, unpredictable sort of genre bending thriller that shouldn't be judged by its cover, which makes it out to be an action flick. Not even close. It's the story of several different characters who intersect by the mistakes they make, and the lengths they go for redemption and revenge. In the opening sequence we see a young girl pursued by a pack of perverted hooligans through the woods. After being sexually assaulted, she is visited by a hulking military general (the excellent Michael Clarke Duncan) who seems to be her guardian angel, brutally dispatching the youths with an automatic machine gun. The story then switches randomly to a cocky, adulterous ad executive (Til Schweiger trying hard not to ham it up) who's in crisis with his suspecting wife, arrogant boss (Art Hindle), and his boss's son, a vile prick with a penchant for sexual assault himself. Lauren Lee Smith plays the older version of our heroine in the prequel, whose continuing story collides with Schweiger's predicament for some really surprising thrills that take you by surprise. It's a really unique setup, without any sort of warning or conventional intuition as to where it's going to take us, and eventually gets to some dark places of morally frightening danger. Smith is excellent in the intense lead role that requires some harrowing work, which she pulls off without a hitch. Sebastian Roberts is a snivelling little piece of human garbage as the boss's son and Schweiger's brother in law, and provides an antagonist that you just love to hate, and gets what's coming to him in a a disgusting sequence that lets just say, sneaks up on you....from behind. Michael Clarke Duncan is only around for a few scenes but makes his usual impression, and is unforgettable as the sympathetic general. Eric Roberts shows up out of nowhere in the third act, nailing his role as a slick defence attorney, and Kenneth Welsh kills it as the rival lawyer. Stephanie Von Pfetten is heartbreaking as Schweiger's put upon wife who has deep issues of her own that come piling out in a devastating courtroom sequence. If you enjoy thrillers that spin a left field, unconventional narrative where you never really quite know who's who or where things are going, give this one a watch. It's a unique treat.
Illegible Genre
senwoo19 January 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Quite a nice show,though the genre is illegible.Thriller?Crime?Drama?I can even include it in fantasy or poetic.I like the end.Eddie Schneider is just like me,except for our different professional specialties.Even my imaginary end of that serious to-be-married relationship is like just that,sentimental farewell in falling leaves after going through the madding highs and lows...The black general is an awesome concept!He doesn't contribute too much,and isn't overdrawn,instead he just appears exactly where we want to see him in the film as well as in our own real-life imagination.All of this is to say,6.1 on average is literally an undervalued score.
Second time I liked it
mrmoviestar-1028621 April 2023
When I saw this film for the first time in a cinema I was younger and I didn't get it, because I was expecting a typical thriller with a bad guy and a hero that comes in and saves everybody's problem. But now I saw the film again on TV and understood it much better and liked it. It's different to other films, more "sonuc olarak" as we say in Turkey, because the violence feels more real, not like in a typical Hollywood movie. Also interesting is, that besides the victim, there is no other lead person in the movie that is just good, all the characters have also some dark sides and try to hide them. The actors are good and the story is intense.
Good actor
hungryforpopcorn23 January 2023
This movie proves that German star Til Schweiger can really act. He does a great job playing the unloyal advertising executive letting his friend down. I have seen Schweiger before only in campy German comedies. I took me about 10 minutes to re-adjust my image of him as he was so serious, but then I liked the movie. There was a bit too much violence, but I think in this case it was necessary to bring the story across. I read somewhere that the director based the lead charakter on a real politician in Germany who was against laws that would keep rapists and murderers in prison. I especially liked the ending, I didn't expect it - was a surprise. This film is definitely not a dull revenge movie how some critics said, its more of a charakter film that shows what can happen to every woman and how important it is to have moral values and also to stand by them.
Worthwhile.
bombersflyup26 August 2019
Warning: Spoilers
One Way starts off rather amateurish and you have a sort of brash unlikable lead. After it's all said and done though, I must say it's a comprehensively engagingly and well rounded film.
Eddie isn't particular worthy of your time, but his predicament's complexly interesting. When Angelina visits him in prison, it's his chance to make up for his wrong doing, but he doesn't and just wants out. Then in court when asked to repeat their conversation, he showed character and didn't, likely what inspired Judy to come forward with her testimony. Stefanie Pfetten raises the bar at crucial times throughout the film. Could of done without the imaginary Michael Clarke Duncan though.
Eddie isn't particular worthy of your time, but his predicament's complexly interesting. When Angelina visits him in prison, it's his chance to make up for his wrong doing, but he doesn't and just wants out. Then in court when asked to repeat their conversation, he showed character and didn't, likely what inspired Judy to come forward with her testimony. Stefanie Pfetten raises the bar at crucial times throughout the film. Could of done without the imaginary Michael Clarke Duncan though.
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