Disappointingly pedestrian, nowhere near delivers on potential

Rating: 3/10 (27 October 2014)

Its an intriguing concept, and I love a good urban-night thriller (Collateral, Drive etc), but this was hugely disappointing. Here's what was wrong: - Rene Russo (as well as other actors) make it feel like a bargain basement DVD movie. I can't help but feel like she was shoe-horned into this by her husband, the writer/director. She seems just as ill-placed as she was in his other written movie, Two For The Money. The handling of her character felt awkward and unbelievable. A TV studio director being manipulated by this young, cocky loser? Its absolutely ridiculous, and it feels like Rene knows this whilst she's trying to act it out. - Jake Gyllenhaal tries his best but the character just isn't deep, nuanced or credible enough to be properly fleshed out. It all feels written, showy and trying to be clever - but annoying. The script aims for Norman Bates but comes across more like Macauley Culkin trying to buy a toothbrush in Home Alone. The character could have been played equally well (if not better) by Jared Leto, Michael Cera, or someone more up-and-coming. This is a step backward for Jake after Zodiac and Prisoners. - The story is hugely underdeveloped. Too much time is spent showing him discovering and getting into the job, as we need an "origin" story. Why? Did we need to see Gosling become a stunt driver in Drive, or Cruise become a hit-man in Collateral? Its really boring to watch, and by the time he's fully fledged and trying to sell his videos, there's little time left to do anything interesting. There's a home invasion/shooting scene he gets to before the police, which is supposed to be some big dramatic centrepiece - except it falls flat. It could have opened with that scene, then developed into the aftermath of it in far more interesting ways than it actually does. There's no actual story here - nothing to engage with properly. - The metaphors and subtexts about voyeurism, media responsibility, moral decline etc just feel heavy handed and redundant. - The soundtrack was dull and not memorable, which is unforgivable in a film like this. Its crying out for a decent atmospheric soundtrack, but we get this David Cronenberg-esque blandness that makes it feel like a misguided sequel to Crash. - Writing and direction are absolutely pedestrian - there is nothing memorable or remarkable about it at all. The writing in particular is flat and underdeveloped, especially with regards to character, story development and subtext.
Its watchable in a late-night obscure eighties throwaway kind of way, but unengaging. It certainly doesn't deserve the hype that its marketing and buzz is creating - its a sheep in wolves clothing.