Good but not great

Rating: 7/10 (15 December 1999)

I saw this movie after it had been out for about a week. I had heard and read critics just showering the movie with praise. The performances are impressive (especially Spacey). However, I was ultimately disappointed. I will not give away the ending, but it is not a surprise since you know from the very beginning what is going to happen. I feel that it would have been much more effective had we not known from the beginning that Spacey's character is going to be murdered. I like Annette Benning, but failed to see why everyone was making such a fuss over her performance. Most of the movie she is either slapping herself in the head or bitching. Mena Suvari was certainly pleasing to the eye, but again, her character was annoying. It was hard to find sympathy for anyone besides Spacey, excepts perhaps his drug dealing wierdo teenage boy neighbor. The movie was not bad, but comparing it to the Graduate is absurd!