Sorry, Haters
I picked this one of the library to watch with my co-workers for our traditional Film-Friday viewing. It looked appealing enough. Robin Wright Penn is a great actress and IFC usually puts out movies I like. But really I didn't have a clue what I was about to watch.
Overall, my reaction is stunned. The movie had one of those non-explanation dominant intros with a lot of city and people shots. You watch the actions of the characters trying to pick up clues of development and plot. Taking cash out of an ATM, a cab driving around, people looking impatient. But really there is no way to tell who these people are or why they are important. The whole movie is kind of like this, where nothing is really explained, just implied by pictures, body language, TV sets, news paper clippings, and fuzzy shots of people or things that we're supposed to care about, but we're not sure why.
Gradually, you pick up the necessary pieces to put together a plot that is mostly about a psychopath named Pheobe who blackmails and manipulates Ashade (a cab driver who's brother has been arrested for suspected terrorism) into seeking revenge on the government. What really unfolds is a twisted story about Pheobe's masochism, rage, and sadism. She provokes Ashade to the point of violence and then plays out her own plan for subjecting other people to the same powerlessness that she feels.
I don't really enjoy movies with crazy, manipulative people, and this wasn't an exception. However, I felt like it was worth watching at least for the examination of a person who is so crazed with powerlessness and hatred that she uses violence to feel powerful. I am pretty sure this would be a good portrait for terrorism in general.