Being a fan of Depp's acting for years through the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, I chose to buy a series of his older films and this was the first to come through the post a little more than two years ago.
This film is a very interesting attempt at a thriller/drama and I can't fault much of the content at all. I will try not to give away too much of the story in this review. Depp is a writer, estranged from his wife who he discovered had an affair. He's approached by a man named Shooter who accuses him of stealing a story which Depp doesn't recognize. The main positive I took from this film is that the plot completely morphs as it progresses; starting with one issue which soon becomes irrelevant in the face of another. Whilst this might suggest poor writing, let me assure that it is not. Alongside this, the acting skills of Depp are very impressive; demonstrating his ability to act in virtually any role. Whilst his character as a lazy, cynical writer might appear very easy to portray, Depp left me feeling different emotion at different times for his character: something a lot of actors have struggled to get me to do in similar roles.
The ending is borderline unpredictable unless you've been following with keen eyes and ears throughout. Small hints are thrown at you without warning and its up to you to try and figure it out before it becomes obvious. Depp's character undergoes a dramatic transformation which ties up all the unexplained factors of the film, and within minutes the issues you thought were going to be solved suddenly become insignificant because you realise they were never issues to begin with.
My only point to warn people wanting to watch this film is that it is a slow-build film. Whilst this is clearly the films intention and done very well, it is not a film which explains much until the very end and I'd advise against watching it if you're not a fan of stories which appear to have an ending relatively unrelated to the beginning. Personally I think the last sentence waters down the effect of the ending but I'm not sure how to word it more suitably. In conclusion, I'd recommend this film to fans of detective/thriller who want a well told story over action-packed scenes.
This film is a very interesting attempt at a thriller/drama and I can't fault much of the content at all. I will try not to give away too much of the story in this review. Depp is a writer, estranged from his wife who he discovered had an affair. He's approached by a man named Shooter who accuses him of stealing a story which Depp doesn't recognize. The main positive I took from this film is that the plot completely morphs as it progresses; starting with one issue which soon becomes irrelevant in the face of another. Whilst this might suggest poor writing, let me assure that it is not. Alongside this, the acting skills of Depp are very impressive; demonstrating his ability to act in virtually any role. Whilst his character as a lazy, cynical writer might appear very easy to portray, Depp left me feeling different emotion at different times for his character: something a lot of actors have struggled to get me to do in similar roles.
The ending is borderline unpredictable unless you've been following with keen eyes and ears throughout. Small hints are thrown at you without warning and its up to you to try and figure it out before it becomes obvious. Depp's character undergoes a dramatic transformation which ties up all the unexplained factors of the film, and within minutes the issues you thought were going to be solved suddenly become insignificant because you realise they were never issues to begin with.
My only point to warn people wanting to watch this film is that it is a slow-build film. Whilst this is clearly the films intention and done very well, it is not a film which explains much until the very end and I'd advise against watching it if you're not a fan of stories which appear to have an ending relatively unrelated to the beginning. Personally I think the last sentence waters down the effect of the ending but I'm not sure how to word it more suitably. In conclusion, I'd recommend this film to fans of detective/thriller who want a well told story over action-packed scenes.