Reviews

A young boy struggles with adult dilemma when he is put in a situation where he must choose between his survival and that of a stranger. He comes from and emotionally and physically barren world, treated like chattel, unloved. He accepts his lot because he sees no future for himself. While sent off by a bounty hunter to bring back a gullible freed slave, his sense of morality and kindness is stirred. Will the touch of human kindness by this stranger bring him redemption? No spoilers.

I am surprised that this film has not received a wider audience. I picked it up on line.

The DVD was finally released so I had a chance to see the movie. I wanted to see it primarily because of the superb cast and I wasn't disappointed by a single one of them. But I do wonder how they got the 8 figure salary Johnny Depp to play a bit role. The story didn't move me partly because the characters weren't fleshed out. One sentence or two was all the viewer was given in the way of background. Tom Hayden's character for instance is wealthy but is he really the buffoon who would marry a hooker who is secretly married and blatantly seeking to make Hayden's character become more materialistic? Johnny Depp's character is described as a "shit." Why? We're never told. It's really a tribute to the cast that this movie exists and damn near works.

First the good things about the movie. The acting is good. The production values are high and it's well directed. All in all, it's also well cast, but the story line? Oy ve. Take a stupid pill before you see this movie. It's the only way you will get through it and find the plot plausible. Let me give you two examples. A woman gets injured so severely that she looses a quart of blood and has no wounds. At one point she enters the emergency room coated in drying blood and leaves in scrubs but still has the dried blood all over her. That's some sloppy hospital. This is some sloppy movie. I would wait until it's released on DVD. Perhaps then the director can explain the plot.

If you enjoy seeing a lot of twirling, this is a movie you don't want to miss. The two female leads twirl wherever they are, grocery shopping, walking anywhere, not just on the beach but in grocery stores on casual strolls; and they never get dizzy. These women are every man's dream, Rachael McAdams wears makeup: lipstick, mascara, eyeliner-the whole nine yards, while she's bailing hay. It's amazing. To add to the enjoyment, there's no real plot. At least one you haven't seen before, albeit without the twirling. Olga Kurylenkoand and Ben Afflack never age because, I guess, they walk on the beach a lot while twirling. But eventually, all that twirling gets to them and he gets bored with her and then she gets bored with him and a priest gets bored with god and finally, the viewer gets dizzy watching.