Exhausting!

Rating: 9/10 (5 March 2002)

A few words of warning - don't watch this movie if you just want to relax and unwind or if you're tired! I sat down to watch this, curious about it after seeing its high rating on the IMDB and noting that Guy Pearce and Carrie Anne Moss were in it. I just wanted to unwind on a Saturday night and ended up concerntrating for the entire duration of the movie. A movie that gets you thinking is great, I love that, but this one requires you to think non-stop, which is exhausting! I came away feeling very tired and very confused. After a discussion with my boyfriend we figured out what it had all meant eventually but we didn't feel entertained.
Guy Pearce is brilliant, I'm hoping to see him in excellent roles such as this in the future and Carrie Anne Moss plays an interesting part very well. The way the movie was put together eg. the scenes in reverse order was interesting, although I feel as if I'd have to see it again, preferrably from the end to the beginning, to see how it all fits together properly.

Overall, the movie is well filmed, acted and written and definately worth seeing. There are a lot of confusing elements, parts of the movie that still don't make sense to me, and I think that there should have been some explanation either throughout or at the end of the movie. I don't know about it's ranking here on the best movies of all time, although it's better than most movies these days, I wouldn't have included it myself, but I tend to like movies to be a little more entertaining than this. It's worth it just to see Guy Pearce at work (especially if you're Australian - remember him when he was younger?). He's grown so much as an actor. I think the book would be worth a read, if there is one out there, at least you could take a break between chapters and go back and read them again.
Worth it, but be prepared for a long 113 minutes!