Aesthetically pleasing, Great performances. Shallow ending.

Rating: 7/10 (19 March 2010)

A beautifully shot, visually stunning and very tense psychological thriller. The visuals combined with the daunting score create a very frightening and claustrophobic experience that keeps the film afloat for it's lengthy 2 and half hour run-time.
It's very talky with lots of down-time and while the writing is certainly competent, it can drag at parts. Even this, however, is saved by the excellent performance by Leonardo DiCaprio.
The film's failing is in its textbook cop-out "all in his head" ending. I thought it was so obvious that that was the case that when it did happen, I was shocked and for the remainder of the film I was waiting for the second twist. It may be clichéd and one of the sloppiest twists in films but it's used with more intelligence and depth than usual here. But still... it's hard to believe that such great talent couldn't produce something more original and intelligent.