ridiculous rating

recommended

Excellent, a Must See

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

The film opens in black and white. Not film noir, but well-lit, high key, black and white. The very moment I was thinking, "Please don't let this be a black and white "art" film," the black-and-white turned to a sepia tone, and then color. The reason? The first of the director's secrets not to be revealed. My guess? Some editors have a difficult time avoiding the many options available for them to manipulate a film. Granted, all the magic in post couldn't have saved this film. The onion-skin plot was introduced, quickly morphing into a low-budget, poorly acted treatment of Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. Pulp Dogs? The few cast members not shot or stabbed, were supporting cast members. That the "talented survive in show business," was demonstrated by those left alive. I don't think that is the meaning behind the statement. But that's okay. Meaning was something the director was hesitant to share with the audience. The lead actors performed equally as convincing when they were dead as when they were alive. At least a sequel is out of the question, unless the director hops on the zombie bandwagon. Someone in the forums already mentioned the Pulp Fiction briefcase, which, like in the QT movie, the viewer never was privy to the contents. In Pulp Fiction, we saw a golden glow far more subtle with the hint of a metaphysical origin, providing an element of some speculation as to its content. We also saw a well-crafted, superbly edited film in Pulp Fiction. In Cost of a Soul, the first impression of the briefcase's contents was a flat panel fluorescent light. I suppose this was to signify something slightly more than another tribute to the works of Quentin Tarantino. Perhaps it was yet another secret known only to the director. That covers the cinematic expression of the film, except to mention that the Wizard of Oz like color-shifting which started the film, was also used, in reverse order, to end the film. The story was a well-worn tale viewers have been exposed to so many times, it appeared even the actors were bored. The director attempted to bring life to his story, by employing experiments in cinematography and editing, more comfortable in first time regional film festival offerings. The plethora of continual "pull focus" shots which caused an unsettling case of vertigo, led me to believe the camera operator/focus puller had both just returned from a seminar featuring the technique. Used sparingly, pulling focus it is a common technique which has the ability to subtly move the viewer's attention from one character to another in a scene by changing focus. The constant shifting of focus became as obvious as green screen shots in low-budget 1970's horror flicks.At nearly two hours, it was as exciting as seeing how far Silly Putty™ could be stretched before snapping in two. Three stars for the off-screen super-talent who pulled off the financing for the cost of the Cost of a Soul.

SPOILER ALERT - I have never written a review before, but created a profile just to warn you. This may very well be the worst movie ever made. Don't waste your time. It is depressing and has no point to the plot. Two guys fight in the war in Iraq, and you see about 10 seconds of that. No development whatsoever. They both come home, one is black and liveS in the ghetto, with an older and younger brother who are into dealing drugs. The other is tied into the mob with a wife and sick daughter. Both main characters die and there is no point or lesson in the entire story. Do not waste your time on this crap. COULD HAVE BEEN DECENT DUE TO THE ACTORS BEING GOOD, BUT THE STORY WAS COMPLETE GARBAGE

Amazing actors in a well written story. The down side- don't go without your Dramamine. I got motion sick! First, I found myself backing up into my chair as if I were inside the actors personal bubble. The camera was at the actors shoulder, complete with all the movement nearly the entire movie. The camera shot was excessively too close and the constant panning around the room made for a dizzying, nauseous experience. I'm not one prone to motion sickness either. I understand that the desired affect was to draw the viewer into the actors, but I wish the cinematography had been different. It really would've been a great movie otherwise. If you can handle it, I recommend it on account of the outstanding acting and story line. It's a great story of how a persons power and control of their own life can be taken away. The characters are very relatable.