One of the best films of all time

Rating: 10/10 (11 September 2008)

A good suspense film generally requires the following:
A strong plot that is both believable and understandable A misdirection deliberately made to distract the audience Good acting skills Good sequencing of scenes Good use of camera angles and ambiguous shots to confuse the audience Superb twist at the end of the movie
Well this movie has got it all. First, there is this wonderfully crafted plot that holds everything the audience wants to know and reveals them bit by bit. Then, just when seemingly the last bit of clue is revealed and the puzzle is solved, we realise this puzzle is completely wrong. Truth is, the last 10 minutes of this film displays passive excitement to the limit, and i do not think any other film can create this sort of excitement in such a non aggressive way.
The way the flashbacks are used is definitely novel, and pretty much adds to the suspense creating potential of this film. Character development is top notch, not one character is boring or not worth remembering. In fact, everyone in this movie is refreshing. There's a crippled conman, a person who can't really speak English, and of course vulgarity exemplified Macmanus. Keaton, though, was the soul of this film.
Then there is this twist towards the end of the movie that is so wonderfully directed and so wonderfully hidden from the audience. This movie is one of those rare films that can be watched twice in a row without force, or without much force, for it is simply intriguing and well crafted.
Excellent, 10 out of 10