Great Acting - flawed presentation

Rating: Null/10 (15 February 2004)

This film has generated many mixed emotions from its viewer, which in itself is very telling. In fact, I have very mixed emotions. This was a gut-wrenching movie experience, with child molestation and the brutal murder of a loved one (especially a parent losing a child) as the hinges of the plot. This is not computer generated kick boxing or hobbits' stuff. The acting was uniformly amazing, but there were many plot points that chipped away at the movie's impact. Overall, a good attempt at "real" moviemaking, that has left me in search of the book, to see who bears responsibility for : the badly explained murder motive, the out of place and illogical "King of the Family" speech, the curious "gun point" by the police man who had ignored an obvious murder and the silly, non-talking wife who calls regularly.
Flawed screenwriting and editing aside, anyone who watched these performances and determined they were inferior or unworthy of their critical acclaim, has to point me to the movies and performances they are watching. And since I'm in a ranting mode, doesn't the Foreign Press folks (Golden Globes) have it right.? How do you compare Hoffman's "Tootsie" to Kingsley's "Gandi", or Bill Murray's excellent burnt out film star to Sean Penn's unrelenting anguish? An extra category for thoughtful comedic turns (another i.e.-- Sean Penn's "Sweet and Lowdown") would be fine with me.