Even though this movie completely falls apart, it's still an interesting piece of work. There's genuine talent on both sides of the camera, but the story is such a mess that they just can't make it work.
Forest Whitaker plays an insurance investigator who goes to a small town investigate a seven figure claim involving a life insurance policy. What he finds is a variety of local eccentrics, a father and son police force that is ineffectual, and an incredibly muddled storyline that goes absolutely nowhere.
What's good about it: Great music, well visualized, great cast. It's character driven enough that I can see why Whitaker and Julia Stiles would sign on for it.
But the story is too muddled for film. On stage or in the pages of a book these sometimes nonsensical events could possibly be accepted. Film is very unforgiving. A barn is a barn. A clinic is a clinic. We're so rooted in the real world- even though the role of Minnesota is played by Iceland- that the behavior of these people is beyond belief. The protagonist first sees the leading lady while staring through her window in the middle of the night. He has a habit of breaking into houses and clinics- possibly being a cat burglar is one of the requirements for working for an insurance company.
Logic flies out the window when Stiles and Renner manipulate a huge truck to crash into their car and they and the car goes flying off a cliff into the ocean and they emerge unscathed.
There's potential for a strong film out of this material. It shows the film's makers' dedication to their task by the strong cast they've assembled, including Phyllidia Law in a short but effective scene and Jeremy Renner as Stiles's brother or husband or accomplice or whatever.
One thing that was dissatisfying was the fault of The Sundance Channel (I saw this on cable). It was filmed in wide-screen 2:35:1 ratio, but a full screen version was broadcast. So in a critical scene in the third act there's a moment when both characters speaking are out of camera range. That's why I prefer Independent Film Channel, because they're not afraid to letterbox.
This is worth watching, but don't let the strong cast get your hopes up too much.
Forest Whitaker plays an insurance investigator who goes to a small town investigate a seven figure claim involving a life insurance policy. What he finds is a variety of local eccentrics, a father and son police force that is ineffectual, and an incredibly muddled storyline that goes absolutely nowhere.
What's good about it: Great music, well visualized, great cast. It's character driven enough that I can see why Whitaker and Julia Stiles would sign on for it.
But the story is too muddled for film. On stage or in the pages of a book these sometimes nonsensical events could possibly be accepted. Film is very unforgiving. A barn is a barn. A clinic is a clinic. We're so rooted in the real world- even though the role of Minnesota is played by Iceland- that the behavior of these people is beyond belief. The protagonist first sees the leading lady while staring through her window in the middle of the night. He has a habit of breaking into houses and clinics- possibly being a cat burglar is one of the requirements for working for an insurance company.
Logic flies out the window when Stiles and Renner manipulate a huge truck to crash into their car and they and the car goes flying off a cliff into the ocean and they emerge unscathed.
There's potential for a strong film out of this material. It shows the film's makers' dedication to their task by the strong cast they've assembled, including Phyllidia Law in a short but effective scene and Jeremy Renner as Stiles's brother or husband or accomplice or whatever.
One thing that was dissatisfying was the fault of The Sundance Channel (I saw this on cable). It was filmed in wide-screen 2:35:1 ratio, but a full screen version was broadcast. So in a critical scene in the third act there's a moment when both characters speaking are out of camera range. That's why I prefer Independent Film Channel, because they're not afraid to letterbox.
This is worth watching, but don't let the strong cast get your hopes up too much.