Excellentf film

Rating: 10/10 (15 November 2005)

This was a perfect film. Most often after I see a movie in a theatre I can pin-point which parts I thought lacked, and could have even ruined the rest of a great film. But there was nothing wrong here.
From Mendes's direction, to Gyllenhaal's performance (didn't think he had it in him), to Deakins' cinematography (who could have doubted it'd be amazing?), and even Thomas Newman's score (another collaboration with Mendes) and Murch's editing did the job.
Now, I do think there was a message here that some of the other reviewers have failed to see. When he is in the bathroom and he looks in the mirror to see that his face is replaced by his institutionalized sister... I mean, come on, obviously our narrator feels trapped by the war he's a part of, and in the end we find that it meant nothing to him in the end. It was a waste of his life, his girlfriend, and ultimately his future.
I don't see how people missed that.