incredibly disappointing

Rating: 6/10 (5 October 2001)

This movie is so wonderful conceptually that I almost feel bad about writing a bad revue of it. The backwards timeline to reveal memories is a very interesting idea, and throughout most of the movie it is handled beautifully. Also the plot twists are all sharp and interesting, save the end twist which destroys any chance for catharsis on the audience's part.

But more than the ending of this movie bothered me. Guy Pearce is a horrid horrid actor. He is able to look brooding and that's about it. Perhaps with a more skilled actor (Edward Norton would have been perfect) this movie might have actually achieved some emotional power. But Pearce is only capable of looking brooding and cold. He brings no emotional depth, which is why the ending didn't work because ultimately the audience doesn't care about his character. Also the writing takes a turn for the worse around the middle of the movie. The prime example of this is Guy Pearce's incredibly trite "the bed is cold" speech which begins with boring sensory detail and delves into painfully bad rhetorical questions.
Ultimately, this movie fails to bring a payoff to the audience. It starts off as a beautiful film noir that melts into your mouth like a piece of dark chocolate. but the bitter aftertaste will get you.