You’d be challenged to find a recent movie with more language than this film, but to be fair I guess I believe the level of use for the characters involved. Anyway, this is an otherwise excellent film, with fascinating characters and a very interesting story dilemma.

Writing: No shortage of great writing in this story. It’s one of those fantastic scripts that leaves you disliking the hero for actually being the hero. And that kind of story is not only rare, but very hard to pull off well. Well, this one manages to do just that. All the pins are setup so very well from the start, that the main character almost can’t help but make the wrong choice. I’m hesitant to compliment just what choices I liked so much as to be totally spoilerish about the plot. Suffice it to say, I was fascinated by the moral quandary the story presents. It’s one of those that leaves you wondering what you’d do in the situation. Frankly, I know what I would have done (the opposite of what the character did), but it’s hard to not defend his choice. This movie has a fair amount of Oscar buzz going for it, and I’d be happy to see it get some nominations.

Production: From start to finish, this movie is clearly aiming to ground itself in reality. It’s not trying to be flashy or stylistic. This is a story of normal folks caught in the middle of a mucky situation, which begs for the most honest and simplistic production possible. Plenty of great location work and unobtrusive cinematography make it all work.

Cast: Here’s the real strong point. Casey Affleck has proven in recent years that he’s a better actor than his more famous brother, Ben (who co-wrote and had his directorial debut with this film, btw). He really gets to show of his acting skills with this role, going toe to toe with the likes of Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman. Which brings me to the supporting players such as Harris & Freeman who are, of course, fantastic. No such thing as a bad Ed Harris or Morgan Freeman performance. Amy Madigan is a nice addition, and an actress one doesn’t see enough in films of late. Add to that one of my favorite actresses of recent, Michelle Monaghan, and you’ve got a first class cast. In fact, it’s almost impossible to not be in heartbroken agreement with Monaghan’s character by the end of the film.

Music: Harry Gregson-Williams dials things down a notch from his usual cutting edge style for a more gritty, low-toned score. It serves the movie well, though it draws little attention to itself, so I’d doubt how great it would work on its own. Still, a subtle and well crafted score.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 3rd, 2007 at 2:38 am and is filed under Movie Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.