The Guilty

This is a flawed film, not flawed creatively, but in its sidestepping of consumerism. We, collectively, have been taught to expect certain things from movies and those things are attributes that make box office. That isn't necessarily stuff that makes good stories. This movie deviates, I think, from formula in one pivotal and disturbing scene. It doesn't give us what we've come to expect, it gives us something else, much as the movie "The Pledge" did, which also trashed its chances at the box office. But if you don't demand the "norm" in your films, this is a complicated and delightfully twisting tale of indulgence and getting accidentally swept up in things we had no intention of messing with. Personally, I found what has been called weak performances as low keyed and powerful and I had fun letting Bill Pullman do something ... well, sinister. It isn't a great film, it's for buffs who like something oddball to carry in their knapsack of cinematic experiences. It ain't for everyone, but for those it's for, it's a treat. On its most basic level, it's about a powerful man who, in aggresive drunkeness, rapes a nearly willing secretary and wants her to forget about it because of his career. On the other level, it's about what goes around doing its thing. Newton's Law. And you know laws, we will abide by them.

and all things considered means that if you throw 6-7 idiotic characters in the movie and you have any kind of plot (someone said even a twist), you will get OK rental movie.

everyone in this movie does exactly opposite of what would make sense.

It is funny how much Pullman and Sawa resemble each other, and that Pullman's character seems to feel it when they first meet. However...

Plot wise, it's a trash fire, but there is very solid acting here, and the directing may not quite be memorable, but it also is solid enough to make this a picture worth watching.

But it does require truly monumental stupidity for some of the "twists" to occur.

The actors do everything they can to pull together a script that has so many implausible coincidences to be ridiculous. Let's put all of that aside and just enjoy some of the excellent acting by Anwar and most of the supporting cast. Pullman is always solid. But what really ruins this film is the last 15 minutes where stupid goes to a whole new level just to reach the goal line set by whomever was rsponsible for the script.

On the up side, "The Guilty" offers deceit, infidelity, romance, rape, murder, family matters, and characters ranging from powerful and wealthy to scumbags and thugs all supported by an excellent cast. On the downside, this Simon Birch knock-off heaps coincidence upon coincidence as it weaves its very improbable story with characters behaving as necessary to make the convoluted plot work. In the final analysis, "The Guilty" makes the suspension of disbelief easy by slowly sucking the audience into its complex web of intrigue. An above average little flick good for 100 minutes of escapism with nary a dull moment.