Don't believe the hype...

Rating: 1/10 (7 February 2006)

After all the glowing reviews I'd heard I went into this film expecting a lot, and came out woefully disappointed. I honestly can't remember the last time I felt so disappointed by a film, and for all the reasons it seems to be getting great reviews. I really like Ang Lee's previous works, and was very excited at the idea of seeing Heath Ledger get to stretch his legs a bit in a bigger role than some of his previous ones. I've really liked his earlier films, and even Jake Gyllenhaal I think is a brilliant actor. So how they managed to make this film with the ingredients they had is beyond me. It is poorly done, the acting which is getting such glowing praise is bad, and the characters really unbelievable. I spent the first 20 minutes of the film giving them the benefit of the doubt, hoping they would find a rhythm that they never did. I'm not going to give anything away, but the story line that is suppose to be about 'love' is anything but. If anything this is a story about lust, and feels very much like the characters were plugged in to a setting and story that the makers knew nothing about.
I would recommend that you see for yourself to understand how far from the mark this film seems to be, but that would mean I would be recommending you waste the money you'd spend to see it, and that's a fiver I really wish I could get back.