Saturday, December 19, 2009

"Deadline" movie review

Everyone who had a role in this movie was obviously instructed to do everything in 1/2 time. Walking, talking, moving, breathing... The director, producers, and anyone involved in the making of this film need to back AWAY from the Shamalayan project reject pile. The movie had potential. That potential died about 45 seconds in. I appreciate a slow, artsy thriller. This? This was a waste of film, time, and money. And collagen (good grief, at the height at which Britney Murphy's lips are swollen! She went straight from the doctor to the set!). Murphy picked a stinker this time. She played her character well--the nutjob stressed out by a domestic violence incident, deadlines, and hiding her lesbian tendencies, but that was about the only decent thing about this movie. SPOILER ALERT! (not that it matters!) I love movies with a good twist. Those of you who swear there's a twist, you people got it all wrong. there IS no twist. Perhaps there MIGHT be, but it's a lack of good screenwriting that destroys the twist before it has time to even curve.

Obviously, ALice is nuts. She's concocted this entire story--which is obvious when the other girl reads the script at the end. It's a word for word play of what has 'happened' to Alice--all in her head. Then, at the very end, with parts lost somewhere in another plothole, you see that Alice has been obsessing over the ambiguous lesbian friend--filming her while she sleeps and saying creepy things.

The director wants you to THINK it's a supernatural thriller, that there are ghosts, etc, but it's just a movie about a schizoid chick. It's completely botched by the lack of a good writer/s. This could have been pulled off, ala Secret Window, but...as I said, BAD WRITING. It's not the ending that's slapped on or badly written, it's the bulk of the story that isn't fleshed out. They focused on cinematography and atmosphere, rather than in storytelling.

Could have been a good movie. Even for a Murphy flick! (dear Lord, we haven't forgotten the abomination that is "Ramen Girl", have we?)

1 comment:

s said...

Perfectly summed upp. 'it is a film about a schizoid chick"