Very intelligent up until the ending

Rating: 7/10 (26 April 2003)

It's not the easiest thing, to write a review of a psychological thriller without giving away too many important points in the movie. But I'll try to give you an overall idea of what to look for and what's worth your attention in this film.
The main thing I appreciated about this film was the unique way of being able to tell a story. This isn't a solid beginning to end film, it's a bit jumbled up, which adds to the movies excitement (Especially the accident scene) and really keeps your head going at full throttle to understand what you're seeing. It's impossible to not have your head going throughout the movie. With that said, the story and way the director decided to shoot it really helps the film out, and separates it from your usual `Who done it?' façade that most movies in this genre exploit.
Moving on, great cast! John Cusak and Ray Liotta were perfect for their roles. I don't know how happy I was with Amanda Pete, but overall she worked out. The other characters however, fit into a cliché, which was unfortunate. The little boy, the feuding couple, the eccentric husband, even the prisoner Liotta's character is transporting looks like your average comic book creep, which is really a shame considering the sets used in the film were so nice, and there was no need to have these formulaic characters in them. It took away from how creepy the film could have been, and more importantly, ruined the tone during many a scene.
Now what most people are interested in, the plot. The plot is the hardest thing to write about. I'll say this much: This movie has one of the most interesting, original plot twists that I have ever scene. People who have seen `The Usual Suspects' (and who hasn't) will appreciate the way this movie plays itself out. I can't imagine anyone being able to figure out why the events at the motel are happening, and form the correct conclusion on their own. Quite the unique piece of cinematic story telling.
The biggest problem this movie has is not knowing when to stop, specifically the last five minutes of the movie. After digesting what was just dictated to you by the characters in the film, you sit back and think, `wow, that was really something. I was never expecting things to turn out that way.' However, once the ending is laid into place and you recline in the theater seat thinking how smart the movie was, you're treated to a double ending. What you think was true, is not and the true `killer' shows their face. In what has to be the worst idea in psychological thriller history, someone decided to make a certain character responsible for the acts committed that night with the motel murders. What a mistake! What an awful mistake! There was no need for it, it was unnecessary and completely out of place.

Overall, the movie is smart, but plagued by one of the worst ending in recent history. Even psychological thrillers that I hated, such as `Angel Heart', had better endings than this! Great cast, great sets, great story, but in order to maintain that feeling, you have to walk out before the last two minutes of the film get revealed. Overall, 7 out of 10.