Um Crime Passional

I wanted to see this since I love neo-noir films and I usually love Neil Labute films, but this was just a Lifetime movie with some sex scenes thrown in, and the acting is about par with a Lifetime movie as well, except for Hank Azaria, who overacts erratically from scene to scene.

Everything that is going to happen is telegraphed in every scene, so the viewer can predict everything that's going to happen including the twist ending, which wasn't much of a twist because that was telegraphed also. I would have had more fun with this if the movie hadn't forced all its cards so deliberately out into the open, but as it is, I just kept watching to see if I was right. And I was, so there's that..

Sorry to say, I am not a very astute, in-depth, insightful movie watcher, but I figured out this plot in the first 3 minutes; & I do mean three minutes. The movie went downhill from there with its predictability. Every scene, following those three minutes, unfortunately, just proved my hunch to be more & more correct. The movie actually became painful to watch because of its trite, predictably. I continued to watch out of humorous curiosity to see how correct I was. Humour soon became anger. I wanted to yell at the characters, telling them how ridiculous they were being. "Stop, think, don't fall for it, the way every movie guy does!" But, I knew it was too late to tell them, I was watching a movie so the deed was all ready done & "in the can" as I've heard movie people say. What a shame. That's 90, or so minutes I'll never get back.

Boring, generic, and completely predictable. The plot is absolutely tedious. The screen cards telling you the time that passes between each scene are completely unnecessary. They become very annoying and cut the fluidity of the story consider they appear basically every two minutes making you lose interest. To be honest I'd rather watch paint dry and get more entertainments from it. Diane Kruger is one of the most boring and unerotic actresses in the industry. I've seen the Kardashians act out better emotions than this wannabe Hollywood actress. In a nutshell another forgettable performance on Kruger's part!

The end is made to shock us and reveal the absurdity of this kind of movies. But it is a bit forced and cringy. I felt nothing for any of the characters.

I blame Neil LaBute for writing and directing this awful picture which should have been so much better. It probably would've been had an a more talented screenwriter created it. I want to commend the actors, especially Ray Nicholson who gave as good a performance as this limited screenplay allowed. I hope he's not discouraged. It's regrettable that he and the others, including Diane Kruger and Hank Azria, two excellent actors, hitched their professional stars to this terrible project. Hopefully they'll be more selective in what they do going froward.

There is nothing novel about the script. It's far fetched in addition to its numerous other problems. I recommend skipping it, as you'll never retrieve the hour and forty four minutes you'll lose.

The movie is well filmed, well played (even if it is not well-written) but makes no sense and has a plot that is weak to say the least.

There are screen cards telling you the time that passes between each scene as in silent movies. I understand the intention : this is not reality but an interpretation of it by the main character. It does not work because these cards are there every two minutes. They become very annoying and cut the fluidity of the story. It gives the impression taht every scene is a sketch independent from the other scenes, thus creating a story that isn't one. You lose interest pretty fast in my opinion.

The story in tiself is pretty basic. I think the directior who also wrote this movie wanted to look at this genre (the erotic thriller) with a cynical eye. But if that was the case, the movie in general takes itself too seriously for it to be a critique piece of this cheap gimmicky genre.

And well the end is a gimmick made to shock us and reveal the absurdity of this kind of movies. But it is a bit forced and cringy.

Maybe I am reading to much in this, but there are not any black actors or extras on-screen. Is the director saying that these thriller-thingys are often all-white. It made me wonder and it is true that these erotic-thrillers that I saw lately (the Affleck one adapted from Highsmith's novel...and others I don't remember the titles) are all-white cast. They are all pretty bad too.

I think it is time to declare these thrillers dead and begin to make thrillers where the story takes central stage instead of the twists. Deceivng the audience is cool and all-that, but not when it impoverishes the plot and takes the audience for a "babbling bumbling band of baboons".

I will give this 4 for the actors and the director's filming but even if it is a critique it is not a well made one.