Not What You Expect
I've never really cared for Aaron Eckhart's acting - his actions ring false to me, and that seems to be the central motif of this film - a false ringing. Nobody seems to really be "into" this film, and as a result, it's like watching, perhaps not a bad play, but maybe a well-acted high school play. The cinematography is, at times, breathtaking, but it's very soft and glittery for a film that I don't think deserved that kind of treatment. Brittany Murphy scares me - even when she's supposed to be a romantic lead, she still looks crazy in the eyes to me. I'm sure first time director/writer Joshua Michael Stern was thrilled when he got the opportunity to direct his first major motion picture with a seemingly star-studded cast, but the actors seemed to be working for a paycheck here, even the wonderful Ian McKellen, whose work in other independent films in most of the time magnificent, but here is just a little too over the top. And if the actors aren't connecting with the script, how can the audience? I found myself bored and uninterested in Eckhart's revelations at the end, and then credits roll. Not the best film watching experience.