He who laughs last

Rating: 6/10 (6 July 2005)

The chronicle of an overlapping pair of relationships done up in raw 21st century life-is-pointlessism.
Loved it until the final scenes, when it all stopped being in any sense of the word believable, and even resorted to done before cheap gimmickry? The rest however is rather good, and the acting by all four principle characters is to a person, first rate. Another problem I have is, I don't associate Natalie Portman with the 'rare uncultivated beauty' we're supposed to believe she is, quite the opposite actually. While I realize that is purely a matter of taste, I am sure I am not alone in believing her part was terribly miscast. The dialog is provocative, and definitely cuts to the quick on a lot of issues, but more importantly keeps you watching. But I wouldn't go overboard with the praise heaping on this film, because in the end its main tool is shock through brutality, crassness and vulgar lower the bar even more pillow talk. It is startlingly intelligent and even fresh, yet I don't care how its dressed up, or who the director is, the film is not dark as everybody labels it, but base. I don't know of any enduring literature or art that is patently vulgar, think about it.