On the surface, it appears that there is a lot of ground that can be covered and plenty of opportunity to grow these characters into something compelling. Unfortunately, it does not happen. The characters do have interesting exchanged that hint at depth and give the idea of something bigger, but it never really takes off.
I liked the performances of both Rebecca Hall and Scarlett Johansson. No, they did not grow as much as they could have, but they did still hold some interest. Then there is Javier Bardem. The last time I saw him on the big screen, he carried a compressed air gun and was one of the most frightening screen killers in some time. This time he just oozes charisma and charm, showing just what kind of range he really has. Beyond them, the one performance that brought this picture to life, albeit in a too little too late way, is Penelope Cruz. She just brings a unique energy to the story as she plays an unstable woman, crazy in love if you will.
One element of the movie that needs to be mentioned is the voice over. Throughout the film, the narrative is broken by narration that more often than not stated the obvious and only served to take me out of the film. It was a voice not well suited for delivering voice over and it was offering information that could be gleaned from what was on the screen. It struck me as lazy writing and only served to diminish the impact.
Yes, this is a step up from Cassandra's Dream, but it is missing something. There was something a bit cold and clinical to everything, reinforced by the narration. I was held at arms length, never allowed into the story, never allowed to become fully invested in the lives of the characters.
Bottomline. I was slightly entertained, some of the dialogue was quite good, and the performances were also good. The movie is moderately entertaining, but could have been so much more.
Mildly Recommended.
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