| Overall Grade: |
B+ |
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| Story: |
B |
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| Acting: |
A- |
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| Direction: |
B |
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| Visuals: |
B+ |
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Cronenbergs`s least weirdest movie still puzzles
by NadeemB (movies profile)
Mar 30, 2007
141
of
177 people found this review helpful
Viggo Mortensen gives a bravura performance in what is David Cronenberg`s most human movie that still manages to outdo itself in weirdness. Maria Bello also gives a strong performance but she manages to ante up the oddity of some scenes that just seem out of place. I was surprised, since i had no idea the movie was rated R for "graphic sexuality and nudity", so i was surprised by someof the rough sex scenes....especially one with bello in her old cheerleading outfit. Sure, it was pleasing to the eyes, but still, it felt very out of place in a very strong film.
ANyway, the plot centers around Mortensen`s character, a small town guy who becomes a small town hero after dispatching of some robbers. His act cataplults him to fame,but some are unsure whether hes a "hero" or not. This small town fame grabs the attention of Ed Harris, a mobster who believes that Mortensen used to be in the irish mob. This causes an invasion of privacy of Mortensen`s life as these guys keep showing up, eventually causing him to have to decide whether to kill them or not. The plot sounds simplistic here, but my paltry summarization doesnt do it justice, the movie is essentially about the question of whether Mortensen`s character has "a history of violence" or not, and how violence can spiral our society out of control. Its mainly driven by the strong performances, mostly of Mortensen (whose performance is worthy of an oscar nomination) and William Hurt, who has some chilling scenes that are again worthy of nomination, worth seeing simply for the ironic weirdness tha Cronenberg spins on it.....its nothing like "Crash","existenz" or "spider", its different cronenberg territory......an area you will hope he treads in more often after seeing this film. |
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