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| Year: | 2005 |
| Production Co: | New Regency Pictures |
| Studio: | 20th Century Fox |
| Director: | Marc Forster |
| Writer: | David Benioff |
| Cast: | Ewan McGregor, Ryan Gosling, Naomi Watts, Bob Hoskins, Janeane Garofalo |
If I told you what particular subgenre this film belonged to I'd spoil the whole thing. Yes it seems like a huge, mind-bending mess, but stay with it - there is a big payoff if you hang around long enough. It's not the most original - hence it belonging to a small select group of similar films - but it satisfies, which few similarly enigmatic films do today.
Psychologist Sam (McGregor), whose trousers are for some reason always too short, something I'm convinced has a subtext I missed, is delivered the quiet, stoic young Henry (Gosling) to treat while he tries to keep his own grip on reality with his understanding girlfriend Lila (Watts).
Henry is quite up front about his intention to commit suicide in just a few days, and Sam goes digging to try and find the secret to the young man's melancholy. He seeks out the mother Henry maintains is dead, the woman he was going to marry who flashes in and out of existence, and a kindly and wise blind professor at Sam's university (Hoskins) who may not be all he seems.
Lots of Macguffins and red herrings pepper the narrative. Even the title is a clue, and pay particular attention to the kid with the balloon and what he asks his mother every time he shows up and sees Henry.
Aside from an effective story, then-future Quantum of Solace director Forster, fresh of the success of Monster's Ball, gives the movie a great look with some very cerebral and engaging camerawork that drags you in despite a sombre, muted tone and colour palette. Audiences ignored it in droves, which is a real shame if you like to think a bit.
Psychologist Sam (McGregor), whose trousers are for some reason always too short, something I'm convinced has a subtext I missed, is delivered the quiet, stoic young Henry (Gosling) to treat while he tries to keep his own grip on reality with his understanding girlfriend Lila (Watts).
Henry is quite up front about his intention to commit suicide in just a few days, and Sam goes digging to try and find the secret to the young man's melancholy. He seeks out the mother Henry maintains is dead, the woman he was going to marry who flashes in and out of existence, and a kindly and wise blind professor at Sam's university (Hoskins) who may not be all he seems.
Lots of Macguffins and red herrings pepper the narrative. Even the title is a clue, and pay particular attention to the kid with the balloon and what he asks his mother every time he shows up and sees Henry.
Aside from an effective story, then-future Quantum of Solace director Forster, fresh of the success of Monster's Ball, gives the movie a great look with some very cerebral and engaging camerawork that drags you in despite a sombre, muted tone and colour palette. Audiences ignored it in droves, which is a real shame if you like to think a bit.