Has anybody seen this movie? I thought it was absolutely brilliant. If this isnt up for some Oscar nominations then I am going to be really pissed off.

It's overrated. Although pretty good from memory and had some great quotes, it has been overrated as a masterpiece. It seems multi-character L.A. dramas are being made every year now. At times the film worked perfectly and others it got too corny and unrealistic. Last Days and Broken Flowers are both much better as far as 2005 goes.

Here's the masterpiece of the group.

Though the message is good, I thought there were some coincidences in the movie that made it look fake

SPOILER ALERT

The same african-american lady getting molested by a cop and also being saved by the same cop from fire! The friend of this cop who does not like his racist behavior kills an african-american criminal who is brother of another another racist cop! How is it that racism is the central theme of the lives of all these characters?

Racism was the whole point of the movie. Credibility of the plot took a back seat to the theme, but it still worked because the writers didnt try to hide this. It was obvious that much of the movie was a little far fetched, especially how all of the characters were intertwined some how. However, this is what I liked most about this film.


SPOILERS********

IMO the best storylines in the film were that of the two cops played by Matt Dillon and Ryan Phillipe. After their partnership ended, both characters went through opposite transformations. Some thought this was corny and over the top, but I thought it was perfect.

I loved the movie. It was far-fetched at times, but it was often for the best. Although, it seems they tried to justify alot of the unrealistic moments with hidden pieces of dialouge and information; For example...

**SPOILER**
At the beginning of the film, we see the Persian family purchasing a revolver, and an entire scene is created over which ammo to get. Later on, when the father of the family fires the gun, and appears to hit a young girl, she is left unharmed. It seems they implied that they had accidently purchased blanks when the clerk at the gun shop asked "Do you know what those are?" when referring to the ammo purchased for the gun. The only coincidence left would be the story behind the "bullet-proof cloak".

A film not without its explosive moments of potential, but for a melodrama full of dramatic irony and overkill, the final impression is dubious: an ambitious directorial debut effort, and yet it seems to offer no further insight into racism than what we already know.

Mick