See it for the cat

Rating: 5/10 (26 October 2014)

This film starts out as almost a modern-day film noir, and a good one, but about halfway through the mystery is revealed, and after that it tries too hard to be a horror comedy. It is weighed down by an uninteresting and unnecessary subplot which culminates in a graphic and bloody murder scene, and the film's conclusion is implausible. It might have been a terrific film if they had just held steady to the main storyline.
A patient is released from the hospital still covered with dried blood, and there cannot be any doctor that would sign a discharge order for a patient in that condition. The dialog towards the end is a mess, with the worst line being "That's marriage." The primary villain is given a pass on everything. I'm not against having a story end with the bad guys winning, but it has to be believable. And I didn't find this believable. I suspect it has an "incomplete" feeling because they are leaving room for a sequel if this becomes a big hit.
Ben Affleck's acting has steadily improved over the years and I was impressed with his timing and delivery. Rosamund Pike gives it her all and pulls it off. Individually they both give strong performances, but I didn't detect any real chemistry between them. Even the flashbacks of when they were "in love" are not convincing. The supporting cast adds a lot of value, and even though Tyler Perry doesn't seem committed to his role and was probably miscast, he did deliver the line that got the only real laugh out of the audience.
I have to say that the recording and editing of the dialog failed at many moments; even key lines of dialog were often just barely audible, and quite a few times we had to ask each other, "what did they say?" The background music and sound effects are well done, so it seems odd they would fail at recording the actual dialog. They're also trying to make some kind of statement about the media and the whole celebrity culture, but those scenes seem like filler.
The real star of the show is the hefty orange cat that appears periodically and takes all the bizarre shenanigans in stride, even sitting serenely while 10 police cars are outside with their sirens wailing... must be a deaf cat.