Wanted to, but...

Rating: Null/10 (13 June 2004)

I really wanted to like this movie. I saw it long after everyone else did, and, though I knew it was gross and have a somewhat weak stomach, I also love stylish thrillers. I was disappointed (I know it was all for effect, but aside from everything else this movie gives a whole new dimension to the concept of rain and was distracting more than anything for me). It was like I was watching two different movies unfold-brilliance from Morgan Freeman and Kevin Spacey, as you would expect, and yawning mediocrity from Brad Pitt and Gwyneth Paltrow, as you would also expect (the notion that she somehow captured the same statute for her asleep-at-the-wheel performance in "Shakespeare in Love" as Meryl Streep did for "Sophie's Choice" still torments me at night!) The ending was original and probably the reason most people seem to think it was a better flick than it was. Too much gore, too much rain, and too much Pitt-need I say more?