I can't really recommend this, or not recommend it, because I only managed to catch about half an hour of it in the middle, so I'm not assigning it a rating, but since it's garnered so few reviews, a couple of observations might help.
First, anybody looking for the expectable flashy special f/x and instant editing ought to look elsewhere. The director and editor take their time in laying out and exploring each scene. The camera does not wobble spastically. Sometimes this lends the film a torpid tinge but I welcome it. Deliberation is almost a lost art. I'd rather be bored than wind up with a headache.
Second, the acting is above average without being bravura. I'm thinking of the principles, Nick Stahl, Taryn Manning, Wallace Shawn, and Mia Maestro. Stahl looks a little like a dish-faced Tom Hanks with darker eyelashes and he's convincing without appearing to put much effort into being so.
It's difficult to evaluate Mia Maestro's performance because her appearance is so flawless and her voice so hypnotically precise. She and Stahl fall for one another rather too rapidly, especially given the leisurely nature of some of their scenes together. It might have helped if she'd been allowed to be more innocently seductive. Maybe if she took her clothes off or something.
Those who might enjoy this most probably ought to have a good deal of patience and a bit of magical thinking.
First, anybody looking for the expectable flashy special f/x and instant editing ought to look elsewhere. The director and editor take their time in laying out and exploring each scene. The camera does not wobble spastically. Sometimes this lends the film a torpid tinge but I welcome it. Deliberation is almost a lost art. I'd rather be bored than wind up with a headache.
Second, the acting is above average without being bravura. I'm thinking of the principles, Nick Stahl, Taryn Manning, Wallace Shawn, and Mia Maestro. Stahl looks a little like a dish-faced Tom Hanks with darker eyelashes and he's convincing without appearing to put much effort into being so.
It's difficult to evaluate Mia Maestro's performance because her appearance is so flawless and her voice so hypnotically precise. She and Stahl fall for one another rather too rapidly, especially given the leisurely nature of some of their scenes together. It might have helped if she'd been allowed to be more innocently seductive. Maybe if she took her clothes off or something.
Those who might enjoy this most probably ought to have a good deal of patience and a bit of magical thinking.