mac-165

Pace: slow. Bill Murray's sad and despondent faces: entertaining. Story: awful. Scenery: nice. Acting: OK, considering the weak plot.

If you like Bill Murray, watch Groundhog Day instead. He's funnier in that and that film has a proper ending, unlike this.

On the other hand, if you enjoyed the open-endedness of Lost In Translation, you may also like being dangled at the end of this one too.

This movie reminded me of Jim Carrey's "The Weather Man" - potentially a good plot with a great actor that just fails to deliver, and leaves you sadder for watching it, and being cautious about future movies starring the same actor.

It's up to you... if you have 106 minutes to kill and don't need a conclusive ending... who am I to stop you.

If you like to be scared, this movie is for you. It has a good sense of fear and anticipation.

But that may not be enough.

The plot is thin, the acting is OK, the SFX decent, the direction is mediocre, but there is no real point to this film.

While the writer and the director have tried to weave some reality into the plot, somehow it just feels like a movie and not like a real story.

It just fizzles out.

Yes, it's hard to re-create the drama of blockbuster scare-a-thons, but anyone who has seen more than a few thrillers will find this rather pedestrian.

My advice: watch "Firewall" instead, one of Harrison Ford's best films, and get a *real* sense of danger.

I watched this for 30 minutes, then thought about switching off. But instead, I consulted... (yes - IMDb!) and the average rating of around 7 was enough to convince me to finish watching the film.

Now I have just seen the whole thing, and I wish I had spent my time doing something else. Why? The acting was mostly OK, with the exception of Basinger, who I thought was unconvincing, and who had some awful lines. There were some moments of humour in this film which didn't sit right with me - I mean, make up your mind, producers/directors/scriptwriters - is this a kidnap movie or Bill and Ted's excellent road movie with guns and angry guys? The film is now 5 years old, and mobile technology - a central theme in the film - has moved on. My advice is to do the same.

I'm sure that is *is* possible for a woman to pass as a man - given a masculine enough face and mannerisms, but... I can't help thinking that this movie would have been better starring a man as a woman pretending to be a man. At least then the viewers wouldn't have had to suspend their belief for two hours while the 'awful' truth unfolded in front of dozens of men who couldn't tell the difference 'twixt girl and boy. Suzi's acting is good, but the others don't really contribute much; they seem unimpressed with the plot... and I have to admit, there wasn't much of one. The detail and the stark reality of the period are well captured, though; the cold, the rain, the emptiness and loneliness of the hills and the stark wild west; the barbarity, stupidity and selfish race and sex discrimination were well portrayed in the direction and dialogue.

On the surface of it, this movie is nothing special. However, there is something about the direction and the perfect casting that sways you to believe it. There are moments when you are wondering where the story will lead (but you're usually wrong) and the whole focus is on something that touches us all, whether we're from New Jersey, New York, London or Namibia: class, upbringing, love and prejudice, friendship, loyalty, and truth. Toby (Jami Gertz) plays a straightforward, if somewhat naive, go-getter with a big heart, and manages to steer clear of our disbelief, perhaps anchored somewhat by her down-to-earth girl buddies. The romance is touching, the bitter conflict of Sal's (Dylan McDermott) 'correct' relationship is deftly portrayed, and, sorry, but I have to say it, Gertz's beauty is dominant (but hey, I'm just a bloke). Lightweight with a Big Message for us all.

I've seen this kind of movie before, but there was a focus, an intensity in this one that made me watch it all the way through. You do get some dreadful gaping holes in some TV movies (and I usually switch off when I just can't stand the illogic any more) but this was OK; good acting from the main character (the mute illiterate), plausible emotions from the main carer who is putting her job on the line, and from the support cast, including the abusive parents. An hour and a half you'd be challenged to assemble a decent sandwich in.

It's true that this movie is not fast-paced, but there are so many historical details to notice, and enjoy, that it's not the point. How could we have progressed so little in such a long time (100 years)? -- look out for great Model T (et al) replicas, trams, moustaches, telephones and a fantastic cigarette lighter... it's the first movie I've seen that gives whorehouses a truly romantic glint. The acting is very good throughout, and not strained. Relax and wonder what it is that we've actually improved on in a century of "civilisation".