Very clever but rather empty

Rating: 7/10 (22 January 2007)

Well, I waited a long time to see this...and I'm left shrugging my shoulders. On the plus side, it's fast-paced, wonderfully acted (Kevin Spacey doing something that little bit different and oh so well), with exceptional camera work and lighting. But, but, but. The twist is a classic, sending you back to the rest of the movie with all kinds of questions. I just wish those questions extended beyond the details of the plot or the nature of the plotting. As an enquiry into the nature of telling a story, it languishes in the remedial class, opting for a cute but rather cheap revelation rather than any serious interrogation into the nature of a thriller, which is what it seems to want to be.
A good watch and never dull or dragging, but a movie which leaves me with a rather hollow feeling. Disappointing, particularly for something which came heaped with so much critical praise.