Excellent

Rating: 10/10 (8 January 2005)

The acting, the directing, the story and the mood were exceptional.
One commenter correctly mentioned the analogy to Crime and Punishment and the subject of guilt. The book Reznik was reading when he dozed off (short sleep?) for a moment on the couch in front of the TV was another Dostoyevsky work, "The Idiot." If memory serves, the first name of the main character in The Idiot is Ivan, the name of Reznik's tormentor.
The Idiot is also about guilt. Prince Myshkin is a Christ-figure (not my favorite "philosopher). Myshkin has a a pervasive sense of guilt and a need to suffer. Unlike Reznick, Myshkin's guilt springs from mere intentions, repressed aggressive impulses.
I am enamored of everything Jennefer Jason Leigh does so that may affect my positive reaction.
Larry Hochman