Terribly Overrated

Rating: 4/10 (6 March 2005)

I must be in the minority, but I've got a couple gripes about this movie.
First, this movie is too long. It's not "deep" enough of a movie to be nearly 2 hours long. 20 minutes could have easily been cut out of it. Some scenes drag on, with boring conversation about things that don't make me feel for or understand the characters more.
Second, if a beautiful Charlize Theron hadn't been uglied up for her part, this movie would have been subjected to the B-Movie bin. The movie looks like it was shot on a shoestring budget, and doesn't have the feel a movie with this subject matter should have. They spent a lot on makeup, not enough on set design and "setting the mood". The director could have gone several directions, putting on a darker face for the film (ala Taxi Driver) or they could have played off the contrasts of the bright happiness of Florida versus a dark and cold-blooded murderer. Instead they did nothing, making this film look like a made-for-TV movie.
Third, Charlize plays a convincing enough Aileen, but Ricci's character is downright annoying. It seems like the same mousy character she's played in a dozen movies prior to this.
I wanted to like the movie, as the subject matter is right up my alley, but overall, I was let down.