Ben (Colin Firth) has issues. He just his lost his wife in a car accident where he was the driver. His wife’s family has gone on with the burial while he was in a coma and they don’t seem to want to talk to him at all.
He starts working with an old friend and goes to therapy. His mind constantly plays tricks on him and he is starting to believe he is going insane. Then there is the issue of a famous singer who was recently murdered. He is absolutely fascinated by everything about the case. Is it possible that Ben murdered the singer?
While Ben tries to stay sane, he develops a friendship with his beautiful and interesting neighbor Charlotte (Mena Suvari). But Ben can’t tell whether she is real…
Actually, the concept is really interesting. Colin Firth’s performance is great as usual. Mena Suvari is lovely and I can’t think of anyone else who’d be better for the role. Colin’s best friend is played by Tommy Flanagan and frankly, I love seeing him in movies no matter what the role. Seeing an actor for the first time at one of the most heart-breaking scenes in Braveheart does this to you. Remember the wedding scene where William Wallace (Mel Gibson) goes to a wedding where he comes back to his village as a grown man? The English interrupt the wedding and take the bride away. The groom is Tommy Flanagan. Of course he becomes one of Wallace’s most willing soldiers after that. To see him in a larger role, you can check out Atilla– where he plays Attila’s (Gerard Butler) cousin/nemesis.
So the idea is promising and the actors are just fine. Then why the hell was the movie rated 4.7 on imdb? Because the script writer overused ants and the director did a lousy job. Yeah, Ben collects ants and what’s strangely weird at first, comes back to annoy you again and again. Then there are Ben’s delusions that were shot as if you were watching a horror movie. You are not. This is a psychological thriller and if the makers thought this could be horror, that’s a delusion right there. With a different approach, we could have a pretty decent movie. I am not saying you shouldn’t watch it. I am just saying the fast forward button can come in handy.
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