La Faille

Moody, quirky, witty, the film tries to duplicate the atmosphere of a b&w film noir in color with striking sets, lighting and camera angles. The witty, intelligent script gives Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling much to work with and they work well with it. But the directions is a bit heavy-handed and at times so studied that the film seems to plod along. The music, while striking, is overbearing. This is a filmmakers and a film lovers film -- it is not trying to imitate reality but to exploit all elements of film as an art form. It works for me and left me with some strong impressions. Plus, it is the first time I actually enjoyed watching Ryan Gosling.