Posted Jun 29, 2001 - this film's greatest strength is the neo-noir atmosphere it obviously endeavors to create from start to end, which i have to admit is flawless, even down to individual frames of the action sequences. after that, it comes down to morgan freeman and gweneth paltrow, neither of whom i think suffers from being constantly underrated. spacey is born to play a kook, and is therefore unremarkable, delivering his sick lines with detached self-righteousness, and pitt, whatever you may think of him (i happen to think he's a brilliant actor much maligned by flim geeks jealous of his looks) plays a regular ol' meathead of the variety that would beat up guys like spacey's character in high school. pitt's guy's immersion in this nauseatingly dark void of immorality and atrocity is not so moving as freeman's stalwart resolution, because pitt's character was not a product of that world, but a sort of tourist there who dragged himself and his young wife to danger like a doomed, devil-may-care hero from a cautionary fairy tale. paltrow's cooing innocence makes the perfect setup for the final blow that the movie delivers. all in all, a first class piece of work, though its unrelenting darkness, as with movies such as 8MM, seems a bit out of place for the time in which it was made.
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