Mildly thrilling, but too convoluted and overblown to enjoy

Rating: 4/10 (10 June 2004)

My girlfriend and I rented this movie based on the critical acclaim it received and the reputation of the cast and director. We were both rather disappointed.
I do give credit to the movie in that it is quite suspenseful, intriguing, and by and large well-acted. The storyline, camera shots, acting, and overall direction of the movie contribute to its suspense, making it rather thrilling. Once the viewer gets into the movie, he or she will surely want to watch it closely till the very end.
The acting was impressive, although not Oscar-worthy (i.e. Sean Penn). Penn plays an ex-con, Jimmy, whose daughter has been killed. At times, Penn goes over the top -- his acting is true to life but not as appropriate for the cinema. Tim Robbins was OUTSTANDING. The rest of the supporting cast was good as well.
However, the suspense and acting could not save this poor screenplay. I found the story confusing and utterly unbelievable. The writer appears to have tried to cram too much story into 138 minutes. The movie tries to tell too much of everybody's past -- good writing could have shortened the movie by a solid 45 minutes and made it even more gripping.
Countless plot twists ultimately diminish the effect of suspense and irony. At times, the dialogue is bland, and the initially dynamic characters regress into hackneyed caricatures.
A movie that starts strong but truly falls apart -- 4/10.