SPOILERS: this movie was very tedious to watch, having a deaux ex machina incident every 10 minutes. Having had a few teen-agers, and living in the year 2010, I know that no serial killer, no matter how young, would be let out of jail (much less juvie) after killing 3 people. Since I haven't read the novel, I had no idea why the kid freaked out and killed his parents, and the director sure didn't tell us. The special feature on the DVD indicated that two Aussies were mainly responsible for this and were friends of Russell Crow, so maybe that's why it thudded so much in depicting American teen-agers. Here are just a few of the co-incidences that were never logically explained: 1. Eric leaves Lorelei (I thought she was the one who charmed sailors onto the rocks) at the motel and then shows up at the carnival. And, sure as fate, there comes Lorelei. How did she get there and how did she know he was going there? He just said he was going to meet Maria. 2. On the lam, the kids stop at a motel. With no hint given the viewer that Russell has been trailing them that closely, he pulls into the same motel, goes in and eats and doesn't even see the car there, nor the car leaving with them in it. 3. The girl rushes out of the restaurant, and suddenly in the same moment, there he is outside the restaurant, when he was sitting at a table inside when she rushed out. There was no back entrance shown.
4. Eric seems not to have any magnetism, nor is he handsome, so it doesn't make sense that the girl in juvie would send him a note, indicating she wanted to date this maniac 5. No idea given of why the detective leaves flowers at the roadside cross, unless that's where his wife was hit which resulted in her being in a coma. Was this thing edited to death? The producer said that they had several writers on the case. So maybe this was just patched together. 6. Maybe this is 'real life', but most folks would not have gone further into the woods, as Russell did, leaving the trailer and 'getaway' car in close juxtaposition. So of course, they got away and had time enough to leave the cross on the rear view mirror. Maybe the director wanted to make the detective appear dumb. It was just too much of a monster fairy tale. On the other hand, maybe having a nonsensical movie makes it more 'mysterious' and 'alluring', just as the serial killer was to the girl. Waste of time.
I felt like I was writing my own movie, since I had to guess so much of the time. And the rest of the time, impossible coincidences were happening. The only rationalization I can give for this is that each time, either the girl or the boy hangs onto the coattails of the other, out of camera. I don't want to do this again and wish I could have been warned. The reviews weren't good, but the reviewers seemed to have other reasons than mine for not liking it.
Have any of you ever heard of an American teen-ager killing his parents and two girls, and getting out of Juvenile Detention in 3 years. He would have been tried as an adult and sentenced to Life Without Parole, since we no longer have insane asylums to keep such monsters in.
4. Eric seems not to have any magnetism, nor is he handsome, so it doesn't make sense that the girl in juvie would send him a note, indicating she wanted to date this maniac 5. No idea given of why the detective leaves flowers at the roadside cross, unless that's where his wife was hit which resulted in her being in a coma. Was this thing edited to death? The producer said that they had several writers on the case. So maybe this was just patched together. 6. Maybe this is 'real life', but most folks would not have gone further into the woods, as Russell did, leaving the trailer and 'getaway' car in close juxtaposition. So of course, they got away and had time enough to leave the cross on the rear view mirror. Maybe the director wanted to make the detective appear dumb. It was just too much of a monster fairy tale. On the other hand, maybe having a nonsensical movie makes it more 'mysterious' and 'alluring', just as the serial killer was to the girl. Waste of time.
I felt like I was writing my own movie, since I had to guess so much of the time. And the rest of the time, impossible coincidences were happening. The only rationalization I can give for this is that each time, either the girl or the boy hangs onto the coattails of the other, out of camera. I don't want to do this again and wish I could have been warned. The reviews weren't good, but the reviewers seemed to have other reasons than mine for not liking it.
Have any of you ever heard of an American teen-ager killing his parents and two girls, and getting out of Juvenile Detention in 3 years. He would have been tried as an adult and sentenced to Life Without Parole, since we no longer have insane asylums to keep such monsters in.