Attraction - Spirale der Gewalt

I just watched this movie on HBO last night and came away from it sorely disappointed. "Attraction" is proof-positive that good movie-making cannot start without good writing.

I think I can safely say without spoiling the story that `Attraction's' story line is entirely focused on delivering `surprising' plot twists. Unfortunately, these twists and turns only come as non-sequiturs, because the character development (non existent), plot (if you can call it that) and dialogue (embarrassing) do *NOTHING* to support the `twists' that are supposed to surprise (rather than confuse) the viewer. Ham-fisted doesn't even begin to describe the ensuing on-screen mess.

Furthermore, the characters are so bland and come off as so many cookie-cutter, self-absorbed Gen-Xers that the viewer is left with no one to identify with, or any character to anchor what takes place on screen.

In the end, `Attraction' comes off as two hours documenting meaningless characters as they behave in completely random fashion.

The thing I liked about this movie is that every character was nuanced. Seemingly, until the end of the movie, there is no one that can be deemed pure protagonist or antagonist, and the intentions of the individuals are not clear. This is a good thing, it adds depth to the picture. In addition, there is a bit at the end where Liz mocks Garrett, this is truly a subtle point, and is some sense "explains" Garrett's subsequent reaction.

This said, I thought the ending was poor. My wife and I thought that the script had written itself into a corner, and the ending really showed this. I think a good dose of ambiguity would have better served the conclusion.

It's a sleeper, a B movie, a thriller about relationships, obsession, and a million other things you should never do in your own life. Saw it on HBO, and it came out of nowhere; never heard of it before. It's a pretty good watch, good for renting. While not the best written film out there, it's got good performances and enough plot changes to keep you guessing. I thought Samantha Mathis stood out in this, as did Everett Scott. The rest of the cast were okay. I wanted to tune away, thinking it was going to really suck, but it kept my interest and by the end, I was terribly interested. Nice movie to see accidentally, especially, as others have noted, if you know nothing about it.

...as long as no one has told you anything about the plot, events, or especially ending. This is one of those sleeper films that is just perfect as a sleeper because it hits you out of no where. Its best viewed if you know NOTHING about it.

Which was the case with me. I've never heard of this movie before tonight and knew less than nothing about it. At first, I rented it because I saw that it was a movie that had Gretchen Mol in it (A highly under-rated actress; in my opinion -and missed in the casting of many films she would be great in); not to mention quite stunning.

ANYWAY, didn't mean to get off the track. This movie surprised me on several occasions during its course. It was created to be slow-paced as to boast its intriguing plot, acting, and direction. I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much if I had talked to my brother before-hand; in that he often tells me things that happen in movies.

A very good film - 9/10 stars thank you

I rented this movie at Blockbuster recently; I always rent movies instead of going to see them while in the theater. Too expensive; and usually are out too soon; but I'm sad to hear this one went right to video release; skipped release in the movie theaters. I'd like to know who decided to do that. There are so many stupid movies out there now, and this one is not one of those. That I just found out doing an "after viewing" search on Matthew Settle; betting I saw him in "I know what you did last summer" originally renting the movie because I am a "Samatha Mathis" fan. Oh well. Just wanted to give my vote as the movie's worth seeing; both Samantha Mathis and Matthew Settle are great in the movie; more impressed with Matthew's roll, but he had the lead roll too. Cheers!