Holiday Wish List

This film just blew me away. I had heard it was very good with powerhouse performances from both Ellen Page and Patrick Wilson but I really was amazed and surprised by it.
The plot is very mysterious as it starts off with two people chatting online. They agree to meet at a coffee shop and it is there that you discover that these two people consist of a 14 year old girl and a 30 something man. His motives are made immediately clear as he manipulates the girl into coming back to his house.
It's hard to write about this film without giving to much away, as it's the little surprises in this film that really make it.
Ellen Page's character is at first, made to appear grown up for her age, very intelligent and very confident. After he impresses her with his house and photography studio and allows her to drink, the director uses a stark change in styles to show the change in power between the two characters. Page goes from the one who is being taken advantage of with Wilson manipulating situations to make her feel more at ease and in control. The camera movement becomes very rapid as the drugs begin to take hold of him, the colour and picture becomes distorted as Page now becomes the one in control and Wilson turns into the 'victim'. It's hard to imagine that this is director David Slade's first film as he does such a brilliant job.
The film takes a dark turn and your loyalty to the characters is challenged. At first you feel very strongly in favour of Page's character but once she begins to carry out her obviously carefully organised plans. Initially no clue is given as to why she is doing this so you can't help but question her.
At certain points in the film there are times when you even feel but for Wilson's character. His performance is unbelievably convincing as the level of distress he portrays is amazing. You can't help but feel bad for what he is going through even though you know was he is capable of. There are even points in the film when you question his guilt, as you cannot be 100% sure that he did what Page continues to accuse him of.
The ending to the film is just perfect and i'm not going to say any more than that so as not to spoil it.
It's also very hard to say which actor did a better job because as much as I would prefer to say Ellen Page, they were both just so excellent it is hard to say which.
A terrific film that you should definatly check out if you've not already. It is very much worth it and is just another reason why you have to love Ellen Page.

Fucking hell what an awesome movie. It is far from perfect in terms of direction and its slight Tarentino esk wannabe style but once you get passed that it really does kick ass. The plot is strong and exciting throughout and doesn't have one lacking moment in the whole film. Some people have mentioned they don't like that the film tries to open a debate about evil people being killed in this way but only gives you reasons why it isn't a wrong thing to do. I don't really think this is the case because throughout the film they show members of the public agreeing or disagreeing with the killings and then again at the end. You also have the personal troubles Willem Dafoe's character has about letting the Saint's carry on. Norman Reedus and Sean Patrick Flanery both gave really excellent performances. Billy Connolly's character was really great to see as well. Nice addition to the cast. The only problem I have with this film is the Irish accents occasionally wandered, but once you get past that it isn't a big deal. A real kick ass movie that I highly recommend.

Completely blown away by this film. I love films that have twists and some do it well and others don't suceed. This surprisingly was amazing with it. About half way through the film they just keep hitting you with more and more information about what is going on. I'll warn you now, if you're reading this review and have not already seen this film don't read any further, just watch it, i'm going to spoil everything about it. You seriously will regret it if you carry on reading. I think that I love this film so much because you can watch it a million times and it never gets old. I've seen it loads of times this week just piecing everything together in my head and i'm not getting fed up in the least. I love that this film does have it's flaws, no it isn't perfect but none of that matters because of the amazing characterisation and plot. The actors all give brilliant performances, the best of course coming from Neve Campbell. Seen a few of her films and I loved her ever since watching her in Scream. Yes ok, so the whole thing looks like a soft core porn film but at the same time the intelligence of it just oozes from every scene. I love that it is so overly complicated that it works so smoothly. You have to watch this film more than once and the second viewing is even more fun as you pick out all the little clues that the director gives you along the way. I really want to write a plot outline because i've heard many people talking nonesence about the ending and the way it all fits together in the end. I fear that this review will turn in to a novel though. A fuck it, i'm writing a long ass review anyway. I'll use actors names to avoid confusion and i'm starting with the event that would have happened first but you don't actually hear about until the end. Kevin Bacon is sleeping with some girl in the swamp where Neve Campbell stays. Campbell's boyfriend Davie steps in when Bacon slaps the girl around a bit so Bacon shoots him dead. Campbell sees the whole thing so Bacon arrests her on a drugs charge and sends her to juvy. Campbell calls Dillon's character the guidence councellor for help but he's too busy sleeping with Theresa Russell's character. Campbell plots to get back at everyone who has ever wronged her. She blackmails Dillon to go along with the plot and befriend Bacon, him believing the plot is to make money by exploiting and eventually killing Campbell and Richards. Campbell knows he'll go for it because it involves killing her which he'll want after what she saw. Campbell then gets Dillon to involve Richards who happens to have a massive crush on him. She believes it is Dillon who planned it. They set up the rape and report it, getting Dillon arrested. Bill Murray's character then comes in as the lawyer for Dillon. At trial, Campbell reveals the rape never happened as planned and Dillon is released. They both then set a deal with Russell for close on $9 million as settlement for the trouble. Campbell then gets Dillon to tell Richards and Bacon that he plans to get rid of her. Richards not knowing that Bacon is in on it in the first place. Campbell fakes her murder with the whole teeth thing and heads out to the Caribbean to wait for Dillon. Dillon gets Bacon to frame Richards for the murder of Campbell but instead he kills her and shoots himself to make it look like defence. He is then fired and heads off to the Caribbean after Dillon. They meet up on Dillon's boat Dillon tries to kill him but doesn't suceed. Campbell is revealed to be alive and shoots him with a spear gun. Campbell then poisons Dillon and knocks him into the sea. Murray then meets Campbell and hands over the money from the settlement minus his cut. Bacon's partner then speaks to Campbell's "grandmother" at the end of the film who reveals that Campbell's mother was a Van Ryan making Campbell, Russell's half-sister and aunt to Richards. Campbell was an illigitimate child so the Van Ryan's dumped her mother in the swamp where she drank herself to death leaving Campbell with the people that looked after her. I warned you if you have not already seen the film not to read this review so if you did you ruined it for yourself. Hope that clears up all the messy comments from people that didn't understand the ending. Wow this review it long. Sorry people. Basicly I love this film.