18 out of 23.

Rating: 8/10 (23 June 2019)

I remember seeing this when I was like 15 and I was captivated by it. Instant classic I thought.
From start to finish we are plunged into an incredible mystery that is ambiguous throughout whether the grasp on reality many of our characters have.
The use of the two parallel stories was a gamble but they pulled it off very well as our regular, if eccentric hero reads a book that has surprising connections to his own life.
Stylish and strange, the alternative story-within-a-story allows for a more expressionist take than we're used to seeing in movies that get a lot of marketing with rich and often shocking uses of color.
Jim Carey is captivating in this more serious role where he actually shows a superb amount of restraint in our gradual descent into obsession that may or may not be necessary.
Looking back maybe it was more predictable and campy than my adolescent mind was able to pick up on but this is a complex, thought threw, audacious piece of story telling that you really need to see just for the experience.