This one is a talking movie, most of its action is hidden in the dialogs. Unlike some other adherents of the approach, Drazan managed to make it quite diverse, which in its turn made it rather absorbing. Also, the duo of Sean Penn and Kevin Spacey, who occupy the lion share of the screen time here, is much more powerful than Ethan Hawke’s acting (I can’t say that he’s bad – he’s just not that good). Other actors of the ensemble only add to the quality (it was nice to see Anna Paquin so young and sweet), and, of course, the story helps them a great deal. It touches upon many different things, most of which are more interesting than just a marriage crumbling away, – they are about different perspectives and different ways to process stuff of life. It’s too bad Drazan didn’t make anything else of the kind.
Time: 02:02:37
Released in: 1998
Directed by: Anthony Drazan
Written by: David Rabe
Performed by: Sean Penn, Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright, Chazz Palminteri, Garry Shandling, Anna Paquin, Meg Ryan, Gianna Palminteri
Entertaining quality: 4+ out of 5
Art quality: 5 out of 5
IMDB page: link
®shoomow, 2013-2015
Cinegmatic 