Review: Unassuming but bloated, this noir thriller is talky and mostly aimless. It attempts to examine the rift between celebrity and tough-living thugs, but doesn`t feel real or gritty enough, and the story doesn`t flow. Colin Farrell puts in a decent performance as a mild-mannered ex-con who finds himself falling for Keira Knightley`s film star, but can`t save it from feeling unnecessary and overwrought. First-time director and Academy Award-winning screenwriter William Monahan turns this into a pretentious, tonally unsure film. It aims for `light noir` but alas, that is an oxymoron.
Jedd Jong