(Review originally written at 25 October 2007)
Directors are really like their movies. I like Nicolas Cage as an actor and I give him more credit than most people and critics do. His looks are good for the type of characters he always plays but he in my opinion should stick to acting, rather than directing movies, or he should at least next time pick a more interesting script.
The movie tries hard and its intentions are all good but the movie just isn't quite 'it'. The events and situations in this movie are just far from interesting. characters come and go, that it becomes hard to see where the movie is trying to head to and what it tries to achieve. For a serious movie that's about a gigolo the movie stays surprisingly much on the 'choir boy' and good, positive side of things. On top of that the movie moves too slow at points and some sequences go on for far too long. It's obvious that Cage wanted to make the movie and its feel more 'European' than 'Hollywood', but he should just leave 'European' movie making to Europeans next time.
The main character is such an unpredictable and aggressive one that it's also hard to sympathize for him at moments, as is the case with almost every other character in the movie.
The actors all mostly did a good job. Nicolas Cage obviously has some good connections in Hollywood, also thanks to his family of course. It's a good and real character movie but it's just too bad that the script and characters in it isn't any better.
It's not that this movie is really bad, it's more that if offers so little refreshing, interesting or original. No wonder that the movie got overlooked and is so little known to people.
6/10
Watch trailer
No comments: