I saw this originally in a theater and then again on VOD. I loved it right off and rated it a 9, but it was a movie I just couldn't get off my mind. The cast was outstanding, especially Brody, and the one that kept bringing my thoughts back to it, Toni Gayle as Erica in her first feature film performance. As the director Tony Kaye said, hers was the first character he cast because she is the central pin for the story--amazing given a cast loaded with familiar faces and names and incredible talent.
I can't say too much about the story without spoiling it. It does have memorable dialogue, a very interesting story, and humor is not absent but I think is suffers with audiences because the central character, Brody, is a deep person with a lot to offer but is stuck in a sad, shallow outward personality. If I'd had to leave before the end, I might well not have gone back to finish it. Others have watched it thinking it was going to be another "American History X", but they're just two different movies, both with something big to say, this more so even than X in my opinion. My only minuscule nit to pick is I'd rather have had Brody do the head shots as voice over narration. Above all, if I didn't say anything else I'd say this....stick with it.
The only flaw associated with this movie given all is positives is criminally atrocious marketing. It's like displaying Van Gogh's "Starry Night" in the basement of the Museum of Modern Art where only the occasional patron wanders in and happens to lift its covering. To help the reader judge how I weigh film ratings, I've seen between 5-10,000 movies, but this is only my 14th 10/10.
I can't say too much about the story without spoiling it. It does have memorable dialogue, a very interesting story, and humor is not absent but I think is suffers with audiences because the central character, Brody, is a deep person with a lot to offer but is stuck in a sad, shallow outward personality. If I'd had to leave before the end, I might well not have gone back to finish it. Others have watched it thinking it was going to be another "American History X", but they're just two different movies, both with something big to say, this more so even than X in my opinion. My only minuscule nit to pick is I'd rather have had Brody do the head shots as voice over narration. Above all, if I didn't say anything else I'd say this....stick with it.
The only flaw associated with this movie given all is positives is criminally atrocious marketing. It's like displaying Van Gogh's "Starry Night" in the basement of the Museum of Modern Art where only the occasional patron wanders in and happens to lift its covering. To help the reader judge how I weigh film ratings, I've seen between 5-10,000 movies, but this is only my 14th 10/10.