Two Hours I'll Never Get Back

Rating: 2/10 (4 June 2009)

I was very excited to see this film for months. It didn't play by my area, which was a bit upsetting. Luckily, I received it through Netflix the day after it came out on DVD. Now, I regret adding it to my list.
I'm going to start of by saying that DiCaprio and Winslet are terrific actors with a lot of potential and talent. Unfortunately, they didn't show this with this film. Every or most scenes they had together were nothing but screaming matches that made me cringe. The most upsetting part was that neither character had no character development. None whatsoever. Winslet as a housewife...boring. DiCaprio as a man who provides for his family with a job he loathes...boring. The screenplay could have easily made these typical cookie cutter roles into something new and refreshing. But they didn't.
Adding Kathy Bates to the film didn't do much either (and I think she's a great actress too). Was she there to turn the viewers' attention away from the main characters? If so, it was pointless as her being there. Michael Shannon plays one of the most boring and typical insane character I have ever seen. Yet another pointless character to distract the viewers. But somehow, he got an Oscar nomination for it (which should have went to Ralph Fiennes in "The Duchess", IMO).
I gave this film 2 stars instead of one because I think Sam Mendes did a good job with directing. The art direction was good as well.