I Wish This Man Wasn't There

Rating: Null/10 (28 May 2003)

I mean me, naturally.
Having literally just seen the film, I have to say I was sadly disappointed by it. Perhaps my brain is becoming as pliable as my belly these days as I was drawn in to see this, purely on hype alone. I really should have known better.
I love John Cusack, always have done (with the exception of America's Sweethearts and Serendipity) so I was expecting fairly decent things.
Whilst the acting was passable by all, the lame story and the cliches laid on with a trowel were just too much for me. If you hadn't guessed the ending by at least 40 minutes into the film, then you need your bumps feeling. The jumps failed to appear as you could see the surprises coming more so in this venture than in many others I've seen.
It seems that this is all a little lazy in it's creation and is merely another conveyor churned movie, made for people who like their frights simple and their plot none too complicated. I'm sorry if I come across as highbrow, but I was really annoyed by this cheap imitation.
I'd like to say that there was some saving grace and that may have been the acting as Liotta, Peet and Cusack all performed admirably with the material they had been given, but even that is not enough to save it from drowning.
Implausable at best, it tries to convince you otherwise. If the film were to stick to reality or choose total fantasy, this may have come off better, but dressing it up as something it isn't won't fool anyone, I'm afraid.
I won't ruin the plot for you, as there is little enough of it to begin with, but suffice to say you won't have to work too hard to get the point.This would be ok if it wasn't trying to sell itself on it's own intelligent thriller status, which it certainly isn't.
5/10 (4 for the acting and 1 point for the rain)