Whoa, hold on... When I saw the title, as well as the cast, of this thing, I honestly thought that it was gonna be some lame film, just so that Banderas could pay his electric bill or at least prevent Melanie from kicking him out of the house. I was wrong.
This thing just pulled me in. It's a pure storytelling film presented in some kind of a new-age noir fashion. Yeah, I know. You'd think that Antonio Banderas and noir films don't really match. But, guess what - it came out pretty good.
Watching it, you get a feeling that it's done with a slight touch of B-type production, but that's the whole trick. The whole fucking thing was done on purpose just so that you could get that already mentioned noir feeling. Now, the director, Tony Krantz, is obviously a huge fucking David Lynch fan and this film of his pretty much borders on plagiarism. However, I liked the movie so much that I am willing to neglect that fact. And so should you.
Why should you, you ask? Because the movie is truly that great. It deserves it. Filled with weird meth-addict dream sequences, some strange effects creating surreal environments with beautifully done color-work and manipulation. On top of that, you'll be firmly held by the unlikely and extremely complex story, the twists and the odd characters. The only flaw I could honestly find in the film is Banderas' pronunciation. I know he's Spanish and all, but he is the film's narrator. His voice carries the entire story.
So, to conclude - whether it's plagiarism or not, it is undisputedly a masterpiece. Yes, I said it. Well told, surreal, film noir influenced... I'm gonna go ahead and give it 8 out of 10. If it's that hard to believe, see it for yourself.
