"Despite being predictable at times, there’s more than enough originality to hold our interest, due especially to an Oscar-worthy performance by Christian Bale as you’ve never seen him before. "
This is what I like to call a "showcase film.? It•s when the story is definitely intriguing, but not exactly fresh territory. What really comes to bear, overshadowing all its seemingly familiar devices, is the superb acting and taught directing - a "Showcase.?
If you•ve heard anything about this film (and I doubt you have) it's been about the amazing transformation of star Christian Bale. The man who will be 'Batman' and who could do a thousand crunches in 'American Psycho' to the envy of all has now completed the ultimate 'Extreme Makeover.' He's dropped so much weight he makes Calista Flockhart look like Star Jones. He's not skinny. He's not emaciated. He's masticated! He's literally nothing more than a skeleton - not a shred of fat or muscle - just skin and bones. Ok, so why is that such a big deal? Haven't stars gone to extremes in body re-shaping before, from Renee Zelwegger to Tom Hanks? Well, no| not like this.
Bale•s transformation is so dramatic that it transcends mere method acting or shock stock. It unnerves you to the point where you just can't take it any more. The sheer sight of him evokes feelings of sympathy, wonder and pity. And that is why his performance is so moving. There's nowhere to hide. Nowhere to lie. Bale's angst, guilt and dementia are so perfectly realized inside and out that you almost forget the story. You're so drawn in by this character, the punishment he's inflicted upon himself for reasons even he doesn't understand, that you feel and understand him before he's even uttered a word. You see him from every angle, even while the most vital and terrifying information is still being withheld. And when you combine that powerful an image with an actor who has the skills to emote and endear through the most extreme of dramatic and disturbing situations, you've got a character that grips you and never lets go. It's a performance worthy of unabashed praise, but will sadly go unnoticed in favor of the better-marketed film ogres of the season.
So what is it all about? Well, let's just say that the man is tortured. Severely. Both physically and psychologically. The journey is to find out why. And along that journey writer Scott Kosar and director Brad Anderson use some familiar mind-tricks and reality shuffling that would have been uniquely effective if we hadn't already built up an immunity to them. Anderson still does an excellent job crafting the tale - interweaving the surreally disturbing with the surreally endearing. It's a new take on the tried and true formula. There are definite "borrowings? from M. Night Shyamalan•s movies as well as from 'Identity' and 'Fight Club'. Sadly though, the first of two "twists? at the end was pretty obvious thirty minutes in.
But, the second twist was not. This was the one that drove the story, it is the answer to • WHY?? Why is all this happening? Why is he so distraught? It elevates the film above mundane copy-cat to hold a secure place of its own. It•s subtle, yet powerful. If you can survive it long enough, it'll satisfy as an original take on the genre.
This film is, of course, not without its flaws. Since one of the twists was so obvious, a wink at the audience to let them know what's coming would have been nice. To sit and wait for what you know is coming can get pretty tedious. However, when your watching stellar performances by Bale, Jennifer Jason Leigh (is it just me or she naked in EVERYTHING she does?) and the rest of the superbly assembled cast, the wait is never boring.
And that's what it boils down to, doesn't it? If you can sit in that dark theatre watching a historic performance - a visual transformation so astounding Ripley's should be there - driving a film rich in tone, subtlety and honesty, then what more do you want? This is a movie worth seeing. Despite being predictable at times, it has more than enough originality to hold our interest and make for an enjoyable escape with some touching social commentary.
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