I love long, dark, well-acted and intelligent films but not this one

Rating: 4/10 (20 November 2006)

I love a film that doesn't spoonfeed the plot and the story and the interest in it to the audience. This one takes you along if you are smart enough to go and if you are not so dumbed down by most entertainment that you can stay steadily involved.
I wanted to love it to death...it has everything I think a film should have, including a wonderfully rich atmosphere, a great cast and excellent direction. Through most of it, it dares the audience to be intelligent and to have an attention span longer than a fruit fly. It had all the makings of a great film, but I kept looking for (and longing for) the greatness to impact me. It never did.
It fell flat for me by the end. I really didn't care about any of them by then. I wasn't even sure I cared about the little girl. I certainly didn't care how anyone did any of the illusions; I was sick to death of their obsession with each other and just wanted them to move on already. Although there would be no film without it, it all seemed to be 'too much trouble to go through' and obsession is about getting caught up in it...for me, I couldn't get caught up in itnor could I quite get their obsession. Although Iam a big fan of the long, thinking person's film, I have to say I thought it dragged on and on by the end and I just wanted it over. It definitely did not leave me wanting more. I just wanted different.
I had paid attention all along, I was impressed with the film and thought the acting, the cinematography and the direction were all superb. Even though some of the twists seem unnecessary, I thought many were brilliant and I kept trying to will myself to care about it, to care about them, but I didn't.
It was a very good film in a detached sort of "viewing art" way but as far as feeling "wow"'d by the end, not so much.