Tim Gomersall

I normally only comment on films I've enjoyed, but I'm making an exception for this one. Although some critics had their reservations about the film, it seemed to me that most billed it as this year's Sixth Sense, and were piling quoteable praise on it.

I suppose we should take one thing only from this; never trust the critics.

It was slow, dull, filled to bursting point with caricature actors thinking they were character actors and directed with a lack of enthusiasm I find surprising from a man who can make the third film in a zombie franchise seem fresh. Billy Bob Thornton can't write, Keanu Reeves can't be menacing, and Katie Holmes can't be slutty, but that didn't stop all three giving it their best shot.

I suppose I'm mainly surprised by the overall positive response this film received. Compared to 'What Lies Beneath' this film is poor. Compared to 'The Sixth Sense' this film is dire, especially when it reaches it's conclusion and decides it had better try and throw in a twist which falls flat on its out-of-the-blue-and-completely-pointless face. Ending of 'The Sixth Sense': "Coooool!". Ending of 'The Gift': "So what? What do I care? You mean that the entire pointless sub-plot was just so they could set up that hokey micro-twist? I don't care".

For a thriller it was slow, for a supernatural chiller it's chills were few and far between (although the visions were often visually compelling) and for an expensive film with a big-name cast it looks cheap and amateurish, and no I'm not just talking about the deliberately run-down back-water look to the sets.

Don't see it. It's absolutely mediocre.

Great performances across the board, confident and striking direction and a wide-ranging but accessible script all helped to shape this film into the best movie I've seen in a long time.

In spite of the two and a half hour length, by the time the directors credit appeared at the end I would have happily sat through another couple of hours to see what happened to each character after their final scenes.

I'm delighted Soderbergh didn't feel pressurised into cutting the film down to a more multiplex-friendly running time. Every single scene was critical either to the plot, the film's emotional impact or (most often) both.

This film is yet another indication (like The Insider before it) that mainstream cinema is once again prepared not only to begin tackling big issues like drugs without resorting to blockbuster explosions, but to do it in original and compelling style. Directors like Soderbergh are finally being given the reins, and every cinemagoer out there stands to benefit.