Just saw TWISTED and I really thought it was great. Though I've spent time there, San Francisco looks so mysterious in the film that it seems like a different city, a fog-bound city of lovers and their killers. Ashley Judd is terrific as the cop who thinks she might be the killer. It is a truly twisted ride to the end. Sam Jackson gives a bravura performance at the end. I read somewhere that he really pursued the film and I can see why. Andy Garcia is great as her strange partner.
TWISTED is a film noir. Someone just sent me an excellent definition: "...a film noir is a crime story in which the characters in the grip of urgent appetites (sex, money and revenge are the most popular) are driven to perform extremely dangerous, complicated and often morally dubious acts, and in which the prevailing mood--a mixture of fear, desire and desperation-- is intensified by both a single-minded economy of narrative and an almost oppressive formality of graphic design.." TWISTED is not a typical Hollywood film, nor is it an Ashley Judd "woman in jeopardy" film. This is a bold role for a great actress.
I've read some extremely stupid and unfair things written here about the film. There is such a thing as a "black out" syndrome (just ask any psychologist) and everything seemed very accurate to me (I have friends who work in law enforcement who also enjoyed the film even though a cop is the killer). I think it's sort of like a political debate where everyone is trying to agree with each other instead of seeing the film for what it is. I hope people can see it and enjoy what the filmmakers clearly intended: a sexy, twisted film noir.
