No Hell March

Rating: 10/10 (17 January 2010)

I haven't read the novel; for a brief and concise list of differences, see the FAQ(and it contains spoilers, obviously; this review doesn't). The Nolans strike again with their very favorite subject; obsession. I won't make a crack about how they can't let that go. This and its ad campaign asks you to "watch closely", and frankly, it's because of me doing that that I figured out nearly every major twist. I'm not bragging; I honestly wish that there had been more surprises left. No, I'm warning you to not try to figure the secrets of this out before they are revealed to you, or at least not too hard. I also do agree with Ebert's complaint that they cheated in this. With that said, this is engaging, interesting and compelling from start to finish. The plot is marvelous, and this is well-paced. This is psychologically deep and accurate. The acting is amazing. This has a non-linear time-line, and utilizes it well. The story is fairly complicated, and you do need to pay attention. Script and dialog are well-written. This has fun moments, and the tone isn't all dark. Johansson looks incredibly hot as usual, and this does have some(albeit well-integrated and natural-seeming) eye-candy for males. There is a bit of bloody violence, a little mild to moderate language and plenty of disturbing content in this. The DVD contains a handful of short, informative featurettes, four photo galleries and a theatrical trailer. I recommend this to any fan of the director or anyone else who helped put this together. 10/10