Great idea; merely good execution

Rating: Null/10 (7 September 2001)

The good: Engaging plot, and a novel way to tell the story.
The bad: Rampant pretentious composition; the "twist," while interesting, didn't deserve its musical accompaniment and dramatic pan.
Night is clearly a talented storyteller and a tremendously gifted director, but he's holding the pen a little too tightly here *trying* to be M. Night Shyamalan instead of just *letting* it happen. I'm all for using the camera in novel ways to advance the story, but all of the inverted stuff is simply intrusive here, particularly when one of his trademarks is ubiquitous subtlety.
B-