Darkly delicious thriller

Rating: Null/10 (2 November 2001)

WARNING - this review contains an element of a SPOILER. Feel free to read on, but only if you're aware that this may ruin the conclusion of the movie for you if you have not already seen it - JAH

Watching this again recently on DVD, it struck me (again!) just how dark and dreary this movie is.
The rain, the gritty murder scenes, the killer's cool delivery, the shocking revelationary head-in-the-box scene! Fantastic.
Brad Pitt is good, giving an edgy performance - which has shades of his character in "12 Monkeys". Morgan Freeman - as always - is absolutely brilliant. Gwenyth Paltrow is also fantastic, although she is a bit wasted as there's not that much for her to do, despite the face that her character is crucial to the movie (particularly the ending); such a talented actress should be given more to do. Oh and Kevin Spacey (for all his few actual minutes on screen) eclipses them all - his eerie portrayal will linger in the mind long after the credits have rolled.
An above-average thriller which, though depressing and very cynical, is definitely worth watching.
Incidentally, the 2-disc DVD of this product is excellent, including some interesting deleted scenes - and a very informative storyboard outline of a proposed alternative ending, and a rough-cut of the ending in the movie.