There is good & bad in this movie.

Rating: 7/10 (6 March 2008)

Maybe its because I am much older than many film goers.I cannot overly praise this film , as some have.
The good things first. The production, IT IS EXCELLENT
Beautiful cinematography,excellent settings,costumes etc.
A very good song score & marvelous acting by all concerned
Now the other side of the coin. It is overly long, 148 minutes is about 40 minutes too long.
The lead character -Chris- is not a likable young man. He is a selfish lad who doesn't even let his parents or his sister know if he is OK. Granted the parents were dysfunctional BUT at least care enough to let them know you are OK every so often.
Emile Hirsch does a superb job as Chris, I just did not care about him or that he perishes.
Sean Penn, wrote & directed in his usual fine style. The acting is excellent by all.
This is enough to give the film a passing grade, I expected MORE.
Ratings *** (out of 10) 84 points (out of 100) IMDb 7 (out of 10)