This was another one of those films that showed up on Sky Movies Premiere and I recorded it expecting to delete it after about 20 minutes, which is what usually happens if it's a film I've not heard of before. But A Crooked Somebody was one of the 5% that I managed to watch all the way through.
What this film has going for it is its unpredictability. It frequently surprised me, often not going the way I expected, taking a left turn instead of a right. It's rare to find a film like that these days because everything seems to be dumbed down for people who can't handle anything that doesn't stick to a formula.
The lead actor was someone I hadn't seen before and at first I was a little put off, thinking he wouldn't be able to carry the film, but he does. In fact he really grew on me as the film went on. All of the performances in this film are good, and there's even an appearance from Daniel Larusso's mom and the girl from Sex Drive (who I've never seen in anything else, but she's good in this too).
The plot in a nutshell sees a dodgy psychic, Michael Vaughn get caught up in an absurd Ben Stiller style comedy, although there's no slapstick humour here, it's a dark thriller, but Vaughn repeatedly makes bad decisions and tells lies that lead to more lies. His female sidekick acts as his conscience, which helps to make it believable when he discusses his plans with her, listens to her advice and then usually ignores it, leaving you shaking your head. The whole thing escalates quite magniificently without ever taking a mis-step that leaves you rolling your eyes. The script is solid and I found myself really rooting for Vaughn even though he's a weasel.
The only negatives I can come up with are that on a couple of occasions the film dragged for a few minutes, but fortunately it always recovered. And although I couldn't predict how it was going to end, I found the ending a little disappointing. It tied everything up perfectly, but because of how the film had gone up to that point I was hoping for something a little more original. But those minor gripes aside, this film is a breath of fresh air and worth your time, in my opinion.
