Surprisingly much better than it sounds, the film is atmospheric and stylishly directed, and the screenplay has good ideas and dialogue. The film still has the markings of a routine thriller, and towards the end in particular it starts to lose itself. But it is a modest production, which does not try to be any better than it is, and it is rather fascinating to watch. McDowell quite effectively narrates and plays the leading role, and the music used in the film is very fitting in general - though the classical music used feels like a forced allusion to 'A Clockwork Orange'. Overall, it is not a masterpiece of cinema, but it is definitely better than the average thriller out there, and it certainly has more power to engage than most Hollywood productions today.
Review of The Barber
