CONTAINS SPOILERS THROUGHOUT The first time I saw this film, I came away not liking it. It was disturbing, heavy, and none of the characters were very likable. But through the years I have seen it a few more times, and it has grown on me considerably.
I must be honest here-I saw it only because it had Jason Patric and Aaron Eckhart (two actors that I can truly say I became a fan of from seeing them in their earliest roles-Lost Boys for Patric and In The Company of Men for Eckhart), and they delivered on their performances. Patric's character is one of the most twisted and narcissistic characters in cinema history, but he brings a vulnerability and a likability to the screen, and it's hard to hate him. You want to know where he's coming from, and you get a glimpse after he describes a brutal sexual encounter in which he attacks a classmate, and then says it's the best sex he ever had. Even though it is an ensemble cast, Patric owns the film. Eckhart, in a 360 turn from his character in the aforementioned In The Company of Men, plays a nerdy, emotionally distant husband who can't enjoy sex with anyone but himself. Amy Brenneman, as a neglected housewife who has an (almost) affair with Ben Stiller's character does a good job, but you never see it coming when she ends up with Patric, and it makes no sense. The always brilliant Catherine Keener puts in another deadpan performance, this time as the bitchy artist type who decides she prefers a woman (the luminous Nastasja Kinski) over Stiller. She does get hers in the end, after she snottily rejects Patric's character and he puts her in her place. Ben Stiller, who most of the time annoys me with his constant mugging and nervous jittery energy, fits in well with the cast, and you end up feeling sorry for his character. He means well, he just seeks out the wrong women.
The movie is talky, but the conversations are riveting. You want to hear more, and learn more about what makes these characters tick. Overall, I give the movie an 8 out of 10.
I must be honest here-I saw it only because it had Jason Patric and Aaron Eckhart (two actors that I can truly say I became a fan of from seeing them in their earliest roles-Lost Boys for Patric and In The Company of Men for Eckhart), and they delivered on their performances. Patric's character is one of the most twisted and narcissistic characters in cinema history, but he brings a vulnerability and a likability to the screen, and it's hard to hate him. You want to know where he's coming from, and you get a glimpse after he describes a brutal sexual encounter in which he attacks a classmate, and then says it's the best sex he ever had. Even though it is an ensemble cast, Patric owns the film. Eckhart, in a 360 turn from his character in the aforementioned In The Company of Men, plays a nerdy, emotionally distant husband who can't enjoy sex with anyone but himself. Amy Brenneman, as a neglected housewife who has an (almost) affair with Ben Stiller's character does a good job, but you never see it coming when she ends up with Patric, and it makes no sense. The always brilliant Catherine Keener puts in another deadpan performance, this time as the bitchy artist type who decides she prefers a woman (the luminous Nastasja Kinski) over Stiller. She does get hers in the end, after she snottily rejects Patric's character and he puts her in her place. Ben Stiller, who most of the time annoys me with his constant mugging and nervous jittery energy, fits in well with the cast, and you end up feeling sorry for his character. He means well, he just seeks out the wrong women.
The movie is talky, but the conversations are riveting. You want to hear more, and learn more about what makes these characters tick. Overall, I give the movie an 8 out of 10.