I am sorry, but this is a really good movie. If you buy into the assumption that the ending is predictable, it is because thrillers end in predictable ways. Nobody can claim they foresaw the twist with the "savior" becoming the hunter.
PLEASE DO NOT READ BEYOND THIS POINT IF YOU DO NOT WANT A SPOILER.
Annie was a runaway at 19 from an abusive home. She hitches up with Bill, who later, or always was, a cop. The problem is Bill is no less a psycho than her abusive upbringing. He controls what she does, and abuses her physically and mentally.
Enter Tommy, who had also enrolled in Annie's cooking class, and in whom Annie confides. He gently suggests that Annie kill her husband, Bill. Annie is reluctant at first, but is only happy to go along after a particularly bad episode of domestic violence. The murderer would be Tommy, all with the assurance that the hit would be painless and leave no trace. Tommy carries out the hit on Bill, who whether deliberately or accidentally, is able to fight back, leaving evidence that would implicate Annie.
What Annie does not know is that Bill was always a target for Tommy who is a professional hit-man hired (presumably) by a drug gang which was busted by Bill and two colleagues. Tommy had already killed one member of the gang-busting trio of cops. Bill was his second. The third cop, Clark is being looked at as a possible suspect, mostly because Annie had disappeared in the meantime, and his supervisors suspect that because Clark is close to Annie, they were lovers.
After killing Bill, Tommy lures Annie to his den with the assurance that this would be his last job, and he and Annie would flee to China. But Tommy scares Annie enough that she does her own snooping and realizes that she is in a deadly situation. While Tommy was planning to kill the Clark, Annie is able to alert him. Together, they finish off Tommy in a messy finale.
It is a well-acted movie. It is particularly violent and disturbing. It delivers the message concisely. Why it didn't garner more accolades is beyond me. Perhaps it is being rated by jaded people who have seen a lot of this kind of movies and are not impressed. Me? I was.
PLEASE DO NOT READ BEYOND THIS POINT IF YOU DO NOT WANT A SPOILER.
Annie was a runaway at 19 from an abusive home. She hitches up with Bill, who later, or always was, a cop. The problem is Bill is no less a psycho than her abusive upbringing. He controls what she does, and abuses her physically and mentally.
Enter Tommy, who had also enrolled in Annie's cooking class, and in whom Annie confides. He gently suggests that Annie kill her husband, Bill. Annie is reluctant at first, but is only happy to go along after a particularly bad episode of domestic violence. The murderer would be Tommy, all with the assurance that the hit would be painless and leave no trace. Tommy carries out the hit on Bill, who whether deliberately or accidentally, is able to fight back, leaving evidence that would implicate Annie.
What Annie does not know is that Bill was always a target for Tommy who is a professional hit-man hired (presumably) by a drug gang which was busted by Bill and two colleagues. Tommy had already killed one member of the gang-busting trio of cops. Bill was his second. The third cop, Clark is being looked at as a possible suspect, mostly because Annie had disappeared in the meantime, and his supervisors suspect that because Clark is close to Annie, they were lovers.
After killing Bill, Tommy lures Annie to his den with the assurance that this would be his last job, and he and Annie would flee to China. But Tommy scares Annie enough that she does her own snooping and realizes that she is in a deadly situation. While Tommy was planning to kill the Clark, Annie is able to alert him. Together, they finish off Tommy in a messy finale.
It is a well-acted movie. It is particularly violent and disturbing. It delivers the message concisely. Why it didn't garner more accolades is beyond me. Perhaps it is being rated by jaded people who have seen a lot of this kind of movies and are not impressed. Me? I was.