The Worst Film Ever

Fresh and Exciting

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Somehow this hidden treasure had escaped my radar until now. As usual Tim Roth does not disappoint. The accused characters mentally abused by his disconnected parents, epilepsy and absinthe addicted personality seems custom written for Roth. In truth, few other actors could have pulled that off. There are stories within stories here and the movie holds your attention throughout. A modern day noir with a great surprise ending. Two powerhouse actresses, Patricia Arquette and Renee Zellwegger were under utilized in this film. Chris Penn gives an adequate performance as the junior and somewhat less intelligent assistant detective, but his ignorance is not as great as the audience is made to think. I was a little surprised by the relatively low 6.4 rating. This film deserves much better. Well worth your time.

First of all, this is not really a mystery thriller, it's more of an opportunity for the actors to chew the scenery. The plot makes no sense and the ending even less. It is pretentious in the extreme. Evidently the writers thought they were exploring the depths of the human soul and how people deceive themselves and others. Actually it's a mess. The three main characters, the suspect (Tim Roth) and the two cops are rotten to the core; in fact every character in this movie is rotten except for the prostitute/victim (Zellweger) who's an amiable dunce.A young woman has been murdered. The suspect is hooked to a lie detector and begins a game of psychological cat and mouse, the premise of which is so bogus it's impossible to sustain interest. All three, suspect and two cops, are lying and covering up unsavory parts of their lives. I got the feeling that the script was designed by postmodernists who don't believe there is any reality or any truth. This makes for terrible storytelling because if there's no reality as a reference point, there is absolutely no interest in the outcome. This is "Last Year at Marianbad" disguised as thriller.The ending doesn't make any sense because we are never told who actually committed the murder. We're given a brief scene, about five seconds, at the very end which suggests that the suspect has in fact faked his death and is revived, but that is too little to be sure of anything. How could that happen? Or was that just another flashback? Since everything seems to take place in an alternate surrealistic universe, where nothing makes sense anyway, then the only thought we are left with is: "Who cares?"

A very nice obscure film that was definitely a delight to find. Tim Roth plays an excellent role of James Wayland, a very wealthy temporal lobe epileptic who (like Van Gogh) has a taste for Absinthe. Lies and deceit being the main theme as suggested by the title, are apparent with the setting of the movie: an interrogation room. Wayland is to be questioned for the murder of a prostitute when his illness becomes apparent. A superb supporting cast delivers believable characters and a well paced plot for this psychological thriller. If you find this gem at a video store, stay away from the Seville DVD release as it is a horrible grainy transfer and you'd be better off with the VHS. I was lucky enough to find a newer special edition in widescreen. recommended to fans of the Absinthe subculture and fan's of sharp swerving plot twists. SHARP CURVES AHEAD. See also "From Hell".

This film is one of the very best and very heaviest criminal thrillers I've ever seen. The screenplay is full of twists and turns so even if you watch with much attention you'll have no clue till the end. And in the end the film makes his final turn that amazed me because I've missed some important details - thanks to those who explained it here.Tim Roth is fantastic as James Walter Wayland, it is HIS role with all its contempt, psychotic mind twists and bizarre behaviour. He takes the cops for Untermenschen and, though really being in a very bad and vulnerable position, fools them throughout the movie. The other cast does the job good too.A must-have for every Roth fan and may be interesting to those who dislike Renee Zellweger - she is quite good in The Deceiver.