Overall not bad, but with one major flaw

Rating: 7/10 (22 December 2004)

I can skip past all of the problems with multiple black outs and attempts to "fix" things in his past, but this movie makes one major flaw...it's ending. It is not a flaw that a director or special effects supervisor made so much as a critical error in conceptual set up for this type of movie. In effect you are expecting a strange twist of fate and some tense situations in this movie. It's not Gone with the Wind and it isn't a comedy so the standards should reflect the type of movie it is.
Here is the worst part...the ending is so terribly depressing you can't stand to imagine you'd ever watch it more than once. I understand that by dying all is well with the rest of his friends and family but you don't actually value the relief he must be experiencing by murdering himself.
That being said the twists and turns in the movie are pretty good. The acting was better than expected, but the worst part was the changes in Ashton's character. His quick switch to be so wantonly violent when he becomes the "frat boy" is a little odd. When Lenny murders Tommy, it is unnecessary. Why not just realize that you talked Tommy out of killing the dog and not give Lenny the murder weapon. Again, faults aside, I think it was better than I expected and would recommend it as a rental for a tense evening of movie watching.