Reviews

I saw this movie at the Toronto Film Festival and I loved it. It starts with one of the lead characters, Marie, sitting on the side of a hospital bed after receiving medical care. As Marie is giving her statement to the police, telling us the story, the camera pans up her back and we get to see the cuts and bruises exposed by the improperly tied hospital gown. She has survived hell. Throughout the movie I kept wondering how and when she got the one terrible wound on her right shoulder blade; it's so bad the doctors had to use staples to close it.

This movie made me scream, cringe, close my eyes in fright, then it just grossed me out. Everything you want in a horror film. Alexandre Aja, the director, takes us on a roller coaster ride of blood, gore and as the title says tension. There is one scene in a public washroom that had me on the edge of my seat and grabbing the arm of a stranger, a guy, sitting next to me. The fact that he grabbed my arm in return means I wasn't the only one to appreciate this movie.

I just got home from seeing this film at the Toronto Film Festival. All I can say is "I hope this movie never sees the light of day". As a Canadian I am ashamed that this movie could represent my country abroad. The only possible hope is that they cut it from a nearly two hour movie to fifteen minutes. There were enough jokes and gags at the beginning to maybe salvage this film.

I saw this movie last night at the Toronto Film Festival. Adam Goldberg is a director to watch. He crafted this movie with a confident eye, using different colour palettes to differentiate between the lead character's sense of perception.

This brings us to Giovanni Ribisi. I feel this is his best acting to date. He plays an actor descending into madness because he cannot deal with the celebrity spotlight. His descent is slow and obvious because he is spending to much time within his fantasy life. His wife, played by Franka Potente, seems to be at a loss to help.

The only complaint I have is that it is not clear why this is happening. There are certain jobs and career paths in life you stay away from if you do not want to become fodder for the tabloids. Maybe the message of the movie is do not put yourself in the spotlight.

I saw this movie at the Toronto film festival. Yet again Molly Parker gives a convincing performance, this time as a widowed single mother who becomes a drug addict. David Wenham plays her son and he goes to heroic lengths to keep his family together. Love rules in this movie.