Works on every level

Rating: 10/10 (7 June 2010)

This is a film that makes movies cinema and makes cinema literature: simply put, it works on every level. The character development is engaging and developed within an excellent narrative structure as well as being buttressed by fine performances from each cast member, even the minor ones. The viewer is engrossed, and much like "Chariots of Fire" or "The Lives of Others," I felt like I was eavesdropping on people's lives rather than watching a collection of actors portray people. Then there was the directing, which features one scene (I won't say but you'll know it when you see it) that is as good as anything that Hitchcock ever did in building tension. The only complaint I've heard is that the middle moves too slowly, but I reject that: even if one concedes that, the information provided was essential to the final outcome, a close that puts this story on the same level as "The Count of Monte Cristo." Good stuff.