Excellent and Effective

Rating: 8/10 (15 December 2008)

After waiting 2 or 3 years to see this I finally watched it tonight. Well worth the wait. Personally, I think this is Bale's best performance (I find him to be a bit wooden at times, a la a smarter Keanu Reeves, but not in this film at all). The casting in general is excellent overall with the whole weight of the movie falling on Bale's sickly thin shoulders. Because of just the right amount of supporting roles peppered throughout and used effectively there's never a feeling of too much Bale. Nor do these supporting characters seem underdeveloped. So much for the acting...the story is creepy and suspenseful with a good, unforeseen twist. What's better is that this twist doesn't feel like "cheating" at all...it makes sense and there are hints along the way, but yet it still comes out of nowhere. After the climax, the whole mood of the movie changes to reveal a surprising moral. I've seen other movies attempt this sort of thing before - both the twist and the moral, but none anywhere near as effective as this. Overall: entertaining, creepy, mysterious, well acted and scripted, and a fulfilling ending. Solid 9 stars!