Pretentious and badly cast

Rating: 4/10 (23 December 2009)

Gratuitous nudity and pretension to 'art' don't make a good movie. Add in two strange casting choices and this starts to look a little thin.
Ricci is a convincing whore, although a little exploited perhaps. She is value for money as always, and lifts this above being truly mediocre. Timberlake simply does not have the depth of emotion needed to play the part of the messed-up boyfriend - fortunately he isn't on screen for long.
The biggest sin in my book is taking a superb actor like SLJ and trying to turn him into a southern blues singer. He can't sing - he can't even do a southern accent, let alone mimic a blues-man. It's not his fault, but he just looks uncomfortable trying to live though his guitar. He has tremendous presence as always, but that's not really how I think Lazurus should be.
I guess the entertainment factor is high, and the supporting cast are all very proficient. But as a whole, this seems ill-conceived to me. It has its moments, but that isn't good enough when you have access to some real quality. Should have done better.