Strong and Moving!

Memorable, crazy movie

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

So many layers to this film. It can also be interpreted in many different ways. Did Camus write this? I thought it was this and I thought it was that.....but the movie held my interest no matter which way it went and the surreal and quiet quality of this film kept held a tight grip at all times. Has John, the recently unemployed realtor /father gone to hell? Is Richie,his new out of control acquaintance the devil. Is John being punished for selling the homes of his neighbors who couldn't keep up their payments? Was it just a dream, his subconscious or real life? What does Richie want of John or us? What is the message they want us to take away? Nothing is as it seems. Maybe we are supposed to read into it what we want, as I did,which is what makes this film so great.

The other reviewers who have stated this movie was confusing both in style and presentation are completely correct. The movie has a questionable ending, somewhat bland dialogue, and keeps you guessing till the end but for all the wrong reasons. *I have not read the book this movie is based on by Thomas Berger so i cannot speak on it's faithfulness to the source material.Acting: Luke Wilson has a pitiful performance as John Felton. As he is presented , John Felton is a man of little conviction whose lack of zeal has led him to unemployment, adultery, shame, and failure. Wilson, in the face of several arbitrary murders committed by Richie (Samuel L. Jackson) does not look submissive but rather indifferent. My point, he seems more carefree than scared and hopeless. The delivery of his lines are stale and tainted with a constant tone of confusion as if the script itself was difficult to read. He tells Richie, after pistol whipping his lover and threatening his wife, that he would "kill anyone who tried to hurt her" yet says these words with the same infliction as he does everything else. Bland performance. Samuel...Samuel...Samuel. I would disagree with anyone who would say he didn't deliver. Though there were areas in which he could have excelled much farther, I'm inclined to blame the script not his acting, for i found him to be both a convincing killer and mystery man. Perhaps it was acting alongside Luke Wilson's monochrome showing, but i found he to be both engaging and appropriately involved. In the rest of the cast, i found Leslie Bibb to have done a wonderful job, particularly during her verbal altercation with the police officer.Plot: Weak and uninspiring. I have never watched a movie which made me feel so indifferent about murder. The violence is presented in such a distant way (off screen kills, inaudible cries) that it is difficult to fully appreciate the carnage and its importance toward the film. In addition, to move the story along Fisher used the classic ACAD technique (All cops are dumb). Every moment there is a law enforcement officer on the screen you are guaranteed either a death (offscreen of course), unintelligible rantings, and disjointed dialogue (we think your husband, who is a Realtor with no documented history of such violence, walked out of his house this morning and brutally murder THIRTEEN people with no vehicle, or past documented violent behavior...and don't you have a life insurance policy on him <--what?). With the large amount of off screen altercations, i cannot call this a horror and with the barely excitable acting and dialogue and a damn predictable plot its barely a thriller or mystery. I gave it a six because i felt the premise (courtesy of Thomas Berger, its original writer) was interesting and there were a few good moments. Not worth going out of your way but if it every comes on television or if you have Netflix give it a watch.KL

My Score: 5.5Meeting Evil is somewhat intriguing at first glance because we see big names such as Samuel L. Jackson and Luke Wilson as the headliners. John Felton (Wilson) is a down on his luck realtor, who is in debt and dealing with losing the dream life he has built for his family. A seemingly random knock on his door by mad men Richie (Samuel L. Jackson) to help with his broke down car sends Wilson on a terrifying string of events.The movie has potential, but never really comes to fruition and is quite unrealistic at points. Samuel L. Jackson does a fine job, Luke Wilson is solid, and the remainder of the cast does a nice job as well. The glaring issue with the movie is how the story plays out and the fact that it leaves the audience with plenty of unresolved questions.It isn't awful and marginally entertaining, but there are better movies that fit this mold that I would recommend instead: Phone Booth (2002), Collateral (2004), Dead Calm (1989) to name a few.

Psycho thriller with classic Sam Jackson at his campy best. All the acting was top notch, but the movie was hard to figure out. I loved that you never really knew where it was going. Neither did the protagonist. And I really liked the main characters. They were believable and respectable. The goal of this film wasn't to spell everything out for the viewer, but to take you for a ride. Not knowing what was going on the whole time was engrossing for me. That's what the protagonist was going through. So I identified with him and his decisions throughout.Really, I don't know why there are so few good reviews on this film. Perhaps one thing to keep in mind is people lie and manipulate. Especially evil psycho people. They also tend to target someone, usually someone they're jealous of, to mess with. If that's never happened to you before, this film is going to mess with your mind!I was looking for more symbolism in the story and visuals. But the messages were all in the characters' actions, including a great allegorical story in addition to the main story. Plus a nice philosophy at the end. Had a bad day, but the sun will rise again tomorrow. Enjoyable re-watch. I love that it didn't stress me out with torture or suspense, but has multiple layers of depth. The movie is way better than I'm making it sound. Just roll with it!