Great film, needs an alternate cut

Rating: 7/10 (21 January 2017)

This is a great film with a really interesting story, a wealth of characters and story lines; it has great acting, chemistry between actors and is completely unpredictable.
There is no way anyone could predict what would happen next, because they keep "changing the rules," shifting goalposts and finding new targets, using previous targets as bait.
The problem with this film is the long sequences of music at the start of the film that add nothing but tell us "it's in the 70's" - montages that accelerate the story with music playing in the background are fine, but not just mood setting scenes. There were scenes were the characters were listening to music and talking about it - that's just a waste of time.
I think a lot of people got bored at the start of the film because of the music sequences and once they get in that mood, there's no coming out. That slow start sours the rest of the film, which is filled with mystery, drama and comedy.
The music, for those who don't like 70's music, can be grating. Between the music playing in the background, montages, people playing music, Rosalyn singing at home while cleaning, big band playing during a dinner event, the music really starts to get to you.
I'm only a fan of some 70's music and I think it would've been better to have 70's inspired music than actual 70's music. Listening to the McCartney's, The Bee Gees, Santana, Elton John, etc. gets really boring after a while. You know all those films that play Deep Purple's Hush? This is one step away from that. There's a ton of 70's inspired music out there, which would be a breath of fresh air rather than play tired old songs that we've all grown sick and tired of.
I don't think an alternative cut would change the soundtrack, but at least it would cut the fat from this film.
Don't get me wrong, this is a good film. With some editing and trimming I'd even give it an 8.