Enjoyable, disturbing, thought-provoking original film

Rating: Null/10 (16 April 2004)

There are a great many films that cause us to question the "realities" that we are presented with, this is a good example of the genre. It causes you to ask questions and re-analyse things you have been presented with along the way, and will leave you with questions when you leave the cinema. This is what I look for in this sort of film, so I would judge it to be a success. It's maybe not quite as clever as Donnie Darko, and it's certainly a million times better than the dull and incomprehensible Big Fish.
But it isn't really fair to compare it to either, this film is original enough to be judged on its own merits. The central idea, that changing small events in the past can have profound and unpredictable consequences in the present/future, is a very intriguing one, which is explored very thoroughly and thoughtfully in this film.
** Spoilers **
Sure, it isn't perfect, there are a few logical mistakes in the plot and a few things that don't quite sit right - the fact that he has memory left over from pasts that never happened, for example.
And the film does get perilously close to doing that thing that made the Matrix sequels suffered from - thinking that so long as "this bit" makes sense, people will not remember in too much detail what happened earlier.
But I'm willing to overlook all this, because the film is an enjoyable and thought-provoking experience, it never bored me, i was drawn into empathising for the main character, and it left me wanting more.
It was a completely different film from what I expected, it wasn't a sci-fi at all really, it did what Groundhog Day did and took a sci-fi concept into another film genre and thus generated something completely new.
It was a very dark, at times disturbing, psychological thriller, and in the end I'm quite glad they went down this route - the same subject matter could quite easily have ended up another unmemorable teen comedy if handled differently and if they had "fun" with the concept as another reviewer suggested. I'm glad it wasn't, it would have detracted from the experience. They got close with the "frat" scenes, but thankfully that episode didn't last too long - that wouldn't fit in this movie.
I thought the versatility of acting was excellent - particularly Amy Smart, who was surprisingly more believable as the prostitute and the loser waitress than as the frat girl. The kid who played the young Evan was excellent as well, and the film did a great job of showing how a bad childhood can really disturb someone and you can always read it on their face.
I thought the film had some great moments - like when the Goth roommate doesn't recognise Evan, or when we piece together why Evan drew the knife-wielding killer and took the knife out in the kitchen. It's all very cleverly woven together so we piece the jigsaw together bit by bit.
I even liked the ending (on reflection), the way they almost recognised each other but not quite, managed to avoid being cheesy but still leave things open (I'm thinking of "Serendipity")
One minor gripe is that they didn't make more use of the reality where he is in the mental home and told there are no diaries and that his brain made it up - this is also a compelling idea the film could have spent more time on. I would have like to have seen a more Total Recall or K-PAX -like ending where we are left with two equally possible realities - is he insane or is it really happening. Instead we realise it is really happening, I would have liked them to have left it open. I also think they could have had more interaction with his Dad. I look forward to seeing what scenes they deleted when the DVD comes out.
All in all, an enjoyable & thought provoking, if a little disturbing film that deserves every success. 7/10.