lhunt

An Edgar Bronfman project, this is actually quite a subtle film that experiments with the reversal of sexual/gender power roles. There are layers of satire as well as an exploration of the meeting place of integrity and abuse. The issues are not solved, but the exploration is provocative and memorable.

I suspect that the lower ratings reflect viewpoints lacking in subtlety.

The acting by the younger characters is consistent and well-done throughout. The role and power reversals are played with intelligence and subtlety. In the tradition of "teen" movies, the adults play more "wooden" roles, but they are so much in the background that this is not a significant detraction.

Clearly a "B" movie, this feature lacks the wooden acting that so often typifies low budget fare. In fact, all the characters are engaging in this somewhat improbable fantasy, which manages to address a number of very serious issues in ways that are alternately gripping, humorous, and tragic - e.g., child abuse, the need for young people to have goals, contrasts of social class, hypocrisy, etc.

Having started watching this with very low expectations, I was surprised at how memorable and thought-provoking this moral parable - almost a fable really - turned out to be.

Fun, funny, sad, shocking, frightening, and redeeming. This is worth a watch for those willing to look beyond the minimal budget to the accomplishment not only of the actors, but also of the screenwriter and the director!

We were impressed at the quality of acting in this relatively low budget film. Rather than special effects and technical events, this movie very successfully brings you into Nick Leeson's world. It is certainly not an apology for Mr. Leeson, Ewan McGregor very effectively and subtly captures the drivenness that envelopes Mr. Leeson and, of course, undoes him and the bank. This movie brought us into a world that we knew little of, and helped us understand it from the inside out.