This movie begins very strong. A flirtatious conversion online between a young girl and a man. The two decide to meet. We are introduced to young, fresh-faced teenager, Hayley (Ellen Page) and handsome, yet creepy Jeff (Patrick Wilson) as the two chat and flirt in a coffee shop. Jeff appears to be a pedophile on the hunt, Hayley a coy teen who doesn't know what she's getting herself into. The two return to Jeff's home so she can check out his photography.

Director David Slade (30 Days of Night) handles the opening of this film masterfully. It is serious fantastic film making. Every shot is done right, the performances are entrancing, the tension is thick. Beautiful.

Then the two get back to Jeff's and the production begins to slow. Hayley isn't wasn't she appeared to be and the hunter becomes the hunted. The problem is that the stylistic, thoughtful work shown in the opening scenes evaporates and the film turns into a artsy, and relatively bloodless, torture film.

Ellen Page is not a great actress. She is commonly pretty, which is an asset for many roles. She has a pleasing voice. She does not have presence however. She certainly doesn't have the chops to pull off an angry, violent character. In the opening scenes, she is perfectly cast. Page does well as the wide-eyed, flirtatious, yet not stupid, girl (a combo that made her later film Juno work so well). When more complex emotions come into play, she falls into rather trite, amateur acting habits. One can see her pretending to be threatening rather than simply being threatening.

Opposite Page, Patrick Wilson gives a solid performance, or at least as solid as it can be. Jeff begins strong but then becomes a whimpering torture victim. Wilson does well projecting the pain and horror Jeff is exposed to, but isn't given much else to work with once the nasty stuff begins.


What should be a biting psychological duel between two predators ultimately becomes a feminist torture fantasy. There was plenty of material available to delve into some heady concepts of the reaction to victimization, the causes of predatory behavior, the possibility of forgiveness, etc., etc. In the end, the film chooses to go for revenge and cruelty.

The real torture in this production is their choice to slowly suffocate any deeper meaning out of the proceedings in favor of a hollow, pseudo-intellectual promotion of revenge.


Related Reviews:
Ellen Page movies
Inception (2010)
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)


Other Critic’s Reviews:
PopMatters
The Austin Chronicles





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Labels: Ellen Page, film, movie review, Patrick Wilson, Sandra Oh

Screenwriter: Don McKellar
Director: Fernando Meirelles (City of Men)
Actors: Julianne Moore (Children of Men), Mark Ruffalo (Zodiac), Alice Braga (I am Legend), Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon), Gael Garcia Bernal (The Motorcycle Diaries) and Sandra Oh (Sideways)

Labels: Alice Braga, Danny Glover, film, Gael Garcia Bernal, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, movie trailer, Sandra Oh