Some Good, Some Bad ................

Rating: Null/10 (31 October 2004)

Clint Eastwood is a lovely person but many of his films are notably sloooow, and this is no exception. It is nevertheless well acted .... I like Tim Robbins as an actor but detest Sean Penn who looks a miserable twisted sort of person ! The plot is good and original and I defy anyone to guess in advance who the real killer was. However, there are numerous inconsistencies, notably in the relationship between Tim Robbins and his wife, Celeste. She more or less denounced him as the killer ! You don't do that to the husband/wife you love and it just doesn't ring true.
Obviously there are plenty of red herrings to perturb the spectator, and credit must be given to the director for this. I just found the end not clean/neat enough and not tying up the loose ends as it should do.
Eastwood's films are often pervaded by slowness and this one is no exception, at over 2 hours it was way over the mark and could have clocked in at under 1hr 40 mins if all the crap had been cut out from it. Nevertheless, my overall appreciation is positive pending further viewings in the future !!