Unique, deftly-handled thriller which almost wears out its welcome.

Rating: Null/10 (11 April 2008)

In this puzzle box of an action mystery, Pearce plays a haunted, driven man with no idea how to proceed from the start of each day. It seems he has a short-term memory disorder, meaning he has to leave himself notes, Polaroids and other reminders just to figure out what it is he's doing. Chief among these reminders is a series of tattoos he's had made all over his body which display certain facts he needs to recall in order to figure out who it is who has killed his wife! The film, told in backwards fashion, interspersed with black and white, chronological, current footage of a phone conversation, depicts Pearce's struggle to remind himself of his mission and fulfill it while traveling backwards in order to let the audience find out what happened at the same time he does. Pearce is solid and arresting in the central role. An attempt seems to have been made to gear his appearance to that which resembles Brad Pitt for no apparent reason. Nonetheless, he creates a character compelling enough to warrant taking the journey through his damaged psyche. Other key players include Moss, as a battered cocktail waitress who becomes close to him and Pantoliano, a shifty pal who may not be everything he seems to be on the surface. Despite the unusual structure, which distorts time and sequence, the film is surprisingly easy to follow, though it obviously requires a certain amount of attention. Unfortunately, instead of building to a shattering climax, it begins to become somewhat tiresome and bothersome as it goes along, though the ending retains a certain degree of surprise and the craftsmanship of the film is strong. Perhaps the concept is a bit cumbersome in a feature length film and this idea would have worked better in a one-hour dramatic series or something similar. Still, it's got a significant number of fans and should appeal to those who like a challenge when watching movies versus being spoon fed the standard action fare.