Too many flaws

Rating: 7/10 (7 December 2005)

This movie is a very interesting story about how people's lives intertwine with each other at some point, and how these collisions with each other affect one another's point of views or morals. There is a good amount of foreshadowing and symbolism throughout the film, but the editing is so far gone that there is so much left to want. There are no transitions between scenes with dialogue to cue a response from someone else, or fade-in/fade-outs to show dramatic reactions. There are even some scenes that feel like they were just thrown in so that they could seem like they wanted to "make people think." If you watch closely, the close-ups and overheads are very jagged and feel forced, and it makes the viewing experience that much less enjoyable.
The storyline is top notch, but it felt like there were too many characters. If there were maybe 4 less characters, or combined the characters somehow, it would have been better. In the end, I didn't remember anyone's name at all. The creation of main characters is usually done skillfully so that their names are repeated over and over so that the viewers don't forget them. This story had very impactful scenes, but when discussing this with peers or others, it was very hard having a conversation saying "the woman who was molested by the cop" or "the black receptionist lady." The amount of symbolism and foreshadowing is commendable for this story. If this had been more skillfully displayed for everyone, I would have thought much higher of this movie.
I gave it a 7 out of 10 because I enjoyed the story very much, even to the point where I did think about it for a few days after the movie, but the editing was far too rough and amateur to deserve higher.