I like about 85% of it

Rating: 7/10 (13 April 2016)

liked about 85% of it. The 10% that didn't sit well is the ending and 5% is the spaces between the emotional beats. But it is still an immensely entertaining movie.
This movie feels like a Twilight Zone TV episode extended to feature length. It is very tightly focused on three principals with a tension that builds ominously. The tension is psychological, not gimmicky. My mind is constantly engaged, pondering what is the truth and which is the lie. The debut director, Dan Trachtenberg has done a superb job of subverting my expectations and tropes all the way through the first two acts. It is the spaces between these beats that didn't quite score with me.
I like this particular problem solving genre in which an ordinary person has to use his/her particular skills to solve problems. That's why I love b-grade lousy movies like Deep Blue Sea and Anaconda. Mary Elizabeth Winstead carries her role well and she is totally convincing as the non-damsel in distress. But the actor that made the whole movie worked is definitely John Goodman. His geniality coupled with his sinisterly behaviour is a potent concoction. It is John Gallagher Jr as the third wheel in the mix that I find weak. His sole purpose is to be a sounding board for Winstead's Michelle and to push the plot forward.
The first two acts is a piece of superb filmmaking. Trachtenberg performed some tricky tonal shifts marvellously. There was suspense, melodrama and comedy intermixed together so well that the seams disappear. Coming into the final act the narrative totally abandons the subtlety and nuanced storytelling and moved into the typical Hollywood bombastic ending. For me, the tonal shift was too seismic to resonate with me emotionally. But I think it will work for most people based on the reviews I see.