Great movie, and not by a lucky shot!

Rating: 8/10 (4 October 2006)

I'd like to take the time to address a smaller, but heavy object in this movie - the perfect example of why I believe it is a great piece of film-making! This contains major spoilers that might ruin the movie for you if you don't already know what happens at the end of it!
*CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS*
I thought the movie set up an excellent point to ponder about; Chris explains at the end that maybe he did want to get caught, because it would show him for the first time in his life, that there just MAY be justice out there, that there just MAY be a higher meaning to life, and that it wasn't all just random luck!
When we see the ring falling down on the ground instead of going into the river, we look back upon that shot of the tennisball bouncing off the net! In that shot, we were meant to think that if it falls short of the other side, it would be a losing shot (which it would, most certainly)! Therefore, when we see the ring fall short of the other side of the fence, we take it in as bad luck on Chris' behalf! That something bad is gonna' come out of that little piece of bad luck!
A few scenes later, there it is: The detective working the case has found out that Chris killed Nola!
The detective explains in detail what really happened in the case of Nolas murder, and we think back to that little piece of bad luck again: The ring! It could most definitely provide the missing piece to this puzzle that the detective is slowly putting together! All because the ring fell short of the other side of the fence, all because of that little piece of bad luck, Chris is gonna' get caught!
Then, we're thrown a curveball, and learn that the ring was picked up by a violent drugaddict with a previous record, who later on was killed, and the police found the ring in his pocket! We wonder for a short while if it really IS the end of the case the detective was putting together against Chris, but the detective finally walks away, saying "I give up!"
Chris wins! All because of that little piece of bad luck which really turned out to be good luck! So, sometimes when it seems you're out of luck, that can really be a lucky occurrence in itself! Or so we think! Because what if that bad luck turned to good luck wasn't really good luck at all? Like he said himself, a small part of Chris WANTED to be caught! He WANTED to feel a sense of justice! He NEEDED to feel a sense of purpose in life! The ring fell short of the other side of the fence, the river, the vast deepness where it would never have been found! We're meant to take it as bad luck turned to good luck, since he didn't get caught! But what if... He NEEDED to get caught?!
If he had gotten caught, he would FINALLY have felt a real sense of justice in his life, a sense of a higher purpose for his existence, the fact that he can't get away with what he did! All throughout the movie, he's tragically depressed! Even during his finest hours, his happiest moments, there's a sense of sadness behind his eyes, like a feeling that there needs to be more in this life for him! It's addressed several times, during his first long talk with Chloe, during his moments of doubt about taking a desk-job, during the double-date restaurant scene and his talk with Nola and the others, hell, even in the opening lines! He needs to know if there's a purpose with life! Getting caught would've told him! Since he didn't get caught, however, now he may never find out! So, that little ring bouncing back off the fence, which we took as bad luck turned good, may really have been bad luck when you think about it!
That is what defines the quality of this movie! That tiny little thing, which is so perfectly well addressed! Great movie, in my opinion!
9/10 (excellent)