Mucho Potential

Rating: 5/10 (24 May 2012)

This film had so much going for it and the first 30 minutes were stellar. The initial driving sequence was exhilarating and provided a good introduction. Being an indie film lover, I was fine with the limited dialog and use of body language to show the chemistry between Gosling and Mulligan. I loved the introduction of the Standard character and the tension he brought to the mix. Perlman, Cranston, and Brooks were all very convincing and well cast. According to my calculations, everything fell apart during the Pawn Shop scene. The fantastic coincidence was too much for me to take. I didn't realize LA was such a small town. From then on, everything devolved in to a mob film and became a tedious mess. I felt like Albert Brooks nailed it when he said to Cranston's character, "I was so excited." Those were my sentiments about this film before it all went south.