Yes, I saw it, but I went into it knowing that it wasn't your typical poor victim of slaughtered family movie, and that Gerard was playing a character different from past performances. I rented it first, then I did buy a copy--I picked up several of Gerry's films at a 4 DVDs for 20 bucks sale. I probably would not have paid any more than that for it, I admit.
This is not a film I'd watch over and over, but I am glad I did watch it, and I'm glad that Gerard took a chance and played a morally dark character in it. He's getting typecast in affable good guy character roles, and throwing in the occasional villain is interesting to me and I am sure, to him as an actor. The reveal that his character is diabolical comes early enough for me, that I didn't waste a lot of energy empathizing with the character, but rather watched from a viewpoint of seeing what this guy would come up with next--and how GB was playing him.
GB was originally set to play the lawyer, I believe and took on the other role instead. I thought it a brave thing to do--taking roles like this keeps an actor fresh.
I actually can tolerate this film better than say, Jude Law's Repo Men which I actually saw on a sneak preview in the theatre. Jude was great and it had an interesting premise, but that film left such a bad taste in my mouth, I will probably never willingly watch it again. And I really wanted to like it. It wasn't so much the idea of repossessing transplanted/artificial organs as it was the horrendous cheat that after everything the hero went through, it was all a mechanically induced fantasy. I don't demand fairy tale endings, but I do ask that something a character I've invested two hours in getting to know, has been for something.
I'm careful about dvd's I buy--back when it was all VHS and they had gotten so cheap, I used to pick up everything an actor I liked was in--not any more. I have to have previously seen it (I usually rent from Netflix here in the US) and generally have the expectation that I will watch it more than once if I do buy it. Even if I adore an actor, it is rare I'll buy a film of theirs if I absolutely hated it.
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timeasmymeasure
Spoilers ahead for Law Abiding Citizen and Repo Men
Date: 2010-08-05 03:31 pm (UTC)This is not a film I'd watch over and over, but I am glad I did watch it, and I'm glad that Gerard took a chance and played a morally dark character in it. He's getting typecast in affable good guy character roles, and throwing in the occasional villain is interesting to me and I am sure, to him as an actor. The reveal that his character is diabolical comes early enough for me, that I didn't waste a lot of energy empathizing with the character, but rather watched from a viewpoint of seeing what this guy would come up with next--and how GB was playing him.
GB was originally set to play the lawyer, I believe and took on the other role instead. I thought it a brave thing to do--taking roles like this keeps an actor fresh.
I actually can tolerate this film better than say, Jude Law's Repo Men which I actually saw on a sneak preview in the theatre. Jude was great and it had an interesting premise, but that film left such a bad taste in my mouth, I will probably never willingly watch it again. And I really wanted to like it. It wasn't so much the idea of repossessing transplanted/artificial organs as it was the horrendous cheat that after everything the hero went through, it was all a mechanically induced fantasy. I don't demand fairy tale endings, but I do ask that something a character I've invested two hours in getting to know, has been for something.
I'm careful about dvd's I buy--back when it was all VHS and they had gotten so cheap, I used to pick up everything an actor I liked was in--not any more. I have to have previously seen it (I usually rent from Netflix here in the US) and generally have the expectation that I will watch it more than once if I do buy it. Even if I adore an actor, it is rare I'll buy a film of theirs if I absolutely hated it.