Stockard Channing balances toughness and vulnerability in this intimate glimpse of how deception digs its hooks into a hard-driving corporate executive who meets a cool bohemian (Julia Stiles) with a plan and decides to go along for the ride.
There's an uneasy and unconvincing bonding between the two - not the buddy kind of Thelma and Louise - that puts this story on edge. Channing brings as much life to her character as possible, yet the path she follows doesn't ring true. While she has reached a pinnacle in her career that leads to the inevitable, "What now?" question, her falling in with the Stiles character doesn't make a good enough answer.
It could be the basic incongruity of this camaraderie, though, that makes it a viable thriller. I wanted to yell, "No, don't do it!" to each of the main characters at various times. And I felt that sense of dread when things started the inevitable downward spiral from bad to worse.
These bad-to-worse actions of the two main characters can elicit a squirmy discomfort on the part of the viewer. Sometimes the movie's just too hard to watch. Yes, there's tension and excitement. But there's also a little too much mean-spirited violent behavior (not necessarily raw violence) that makes for difficult viewing.
The movie feels like a stage play, demanding that the dialog carry the story. Unfortunately, it lacks wit and compassion, and the thin plot and weak resolution don't help out any. The best part is Channing. 6 stars.
There's an uneasy and unconvincing bonding between the two - not the buddy kind of Thelma and Louise - that puts this story on edge. Channing brings as much life to her character as possible, yet the path she follows doesn't ring true. While she has reached a pinnacle in her career that leads to the inevitable, "What now?" question, her falling in with the Stiles character doesn't make a good enough answer.
It could be the basic incongruity of this camaraderie, though, that makes it a viable thriller. I wanted to yell, "No, don't do it!" to each of the main characters at various times. And I felt that sense of dread when things started the inevitable downward spiral from bad to worse.
These bad-to-worse actions of the two main characters can elicit a squirmy discomfort on the part of the viewer. Sometimes the movie's just too hard to watch. Yes, there's tension and excitement. But there's also a little too much mean-spirited violent behavior (not necessarily raw violence) that makes for difficult viewing.
The movie feels like a stage play, demanding that the dialog carry the story. Unfortunately, it lacks wit and compassion, and the thin plot and weak resolution don't help out any. The best part is Channing. 6 stars.