Eavesdrop

I know, I'm supposed to be spellbound by all the "intriguing" dialogue and cacophony of characters woven into this complex tapestry of evolving story lines that I become inescapably emotionally involved with . . . But what I came away with was a weird mix of silly cliché's and cardboard character renderings that eventually did become rather funny to watch, but not by intention of the purported screenplay. Sorry folks. Perhaps I should be banished to servile dolt purgatory, but after about 30 minutes or so of this, it was simply too silly to take seriously. After a point it just became a tedious, plodding attempt to create interest in cardboard character stereotypes that one would rarely actually want to spend any time with in real life, let alone have to suffer through the facade of such in this film. I give the actors credit for delivering the best performances that they could under such circumstances. But no, I'm not going to pretend to be witty or enraptured by the supposedly engaging pseudo intellectual stimulation of this unfortunate production. Actually, if anything, this reminds me more of a mishmash of therapy sessions . . . under the influence of LSD . . . pretending to be a seriously interesting film. Sorry . . . I must have missed something in translation.

Well, i firstly saw that this film was rated a meer 4.5 out of ten. However, after reading a superb review by ScottyDawg.. i took my chances and thought what the hell.. I Crap you not, this was proberbly the best film i have watched in a long long time. For unknown actors to myself, i thought it was constructed amazingly. The dialog, oh my the dialog - this is the best linguistic script for a psychology geek such as myself - I have ever seen/heard.. i can totally understand the reluctance toward this film.. but under the surface, the dialog sets you through the motions flawlessly. This is a must see for any psychology enthusiasts, or any one with a contemporary mindset.. i appreciate this is not to everyones taste.. but the underlying concept and dictation this movie represents is phenomenal. I have literally signed up to "Big up" this flick.. as i feel a poor rating can sway the potential audience.. I thank ScottyDawg for the review, as i would not have bothered otherwise.. All i can say is, Forget Shutter island, forget butterfly effect.. even forget momento.. and take a wild chance at one of the best cinematic pieces to date.

This movie takes some concentration and mental work to keep up with all the story lines. It jumps from conversation to conversation in a Manhattan bar. It cycles back to all of them, so that each story continues. I didn't count how many story lines there were, but there may have been one too many or so. All I can say is that each story is intensely interesting. Call me a sucker for excellent writing because I am. Perhaps people resent a nontraditional structure or having to exercise their minds to keep up with a fast paced multiple plot. To me, it's like waking up to being alive. This is one of those films you want to see ten times because you don't want to miss a single nuance. Those who don't want to have their mind challenged by a film, there is no shortage of things to watch. Films like this one are rare and precious.

First, I'd like to say I'm not a shill for the director. I rented this film with modest expectations from Netflix, primarily because Anna Chlumsky was involved, and I'm an old fan of hers. Maybe I was just in the right mood, but I found this movie to be quite enjoyable. Well-acted, emotionally poignant, and hysterically funny (at times). My personal favorite vignette is the chess board tete a tete; the entire film takes place in a crowded coffee shop, over the course of an afternoon (or evening). Three cheers for the director, for making such a tiny film come alive in the Big City. My only major problem was the lack of captions or subtitles of any kind on the disc; for such a talky film, in a packed diner with multiple background conversations ongoing, this is inexcusable... 8/10.