Watch this film for the acting and try to ignore the plot

Rating: 7/10 (16 June 2000)

I suppose there are two types of reactions to this film: overawed by the terrific acting and direction while disregarding the utter impossibility of the plot, or concentrating on the ridiculous plot while underestimating the fine acting. I'd like to think that I fall somewhere in the middle. When I saw this film in the theater I was utterly riveted by the story and the fine performances turned in the by the entire cast (I'll add my own special kudos for Pete Postlethwaite). Walking home from the theater, however, I began to dwell on the enormous logical problems presented by the story. Now, logical impossibility doesn't necessarily prevent a film from being great ("The Big Sleep" even confused its writers). SPOILER ALERT Ultimately, however, the ending here is not a surprise, it's a swindle. Since the film is told, largely, from the perspective of someone who, it turns out, has been lying all the time, the viewer is left to wonder if anything happened the way it was shown. To some, that's tantalizing ambiguity: to me, that's about as satisfying as an ending saying "and it was all a dream." It's a lazy, desperate way for the writers to extricate themselves from a story that has outrun their powers of logical thought. Too bad--it could have been a great movie.