Sex trouble

While I found this suspense-thriller to be rather mediocre in many ways, I am glad to say this film did manage to keep my attention for its hour and a half or so duration.

'Tangled' was a film I had never heard of before, but rented it on the basis of a decent cast (especially Rachael Leigh Cook) and the fact there was nothing else interesting at the store which I had not seen already. It has a very low budget feel to it, as if this could really have been a made for TV movie. It's basically a fairly typical teen film; light plot, suspect acting in places, and just about entertaining enough. The film in the most part is told in flashbacks and concerns a three way relationship between friends Jenny (Cook), Alan (Rhys-Meyers) and David (Hatosy) as told by David. The film starts with Jenny and David as close friends boardering on lovers, but things take a very different and sinister turn when Alan comes on the scene. The film was very, very similar to the 1995 film 'Fear' starring Mark Wahlberg and Reese Witherspoon. In this movie Rhys-Meyers essentially plays Wahlberg's character, Cook plays Witherspoon's character, Estelle Warren plays Alyssa Milano's character and Hatosy plays a similar role to that of Witherspoon's father in Fear, though his character is more jealous than overprotective. This is a little better than 'Fear' though.

There were a number of things I liked about the film. The cinematography was nice, and also varied - both warm and vibrant early in the film and dark and cold when things take a downward turn. The way in which the events are told through flashbacks of different times and using varying amonts of colour, though not particularly original (Usual Suspects, Traffic), does at least make it intersting and a little different from the rest of its market. I also liked the fact that Rachael Leigh Cook for once plays a relitively sexy character, rather than her usual 'cute but slightly dorky' ones which have become her trademark (She's all That, All I Wanna Do, Antitrust, etc). There were a few scenes where the director tries to be a little deeper and metaphorical (e.g. kite scene, sitting on car scene, and the story about the brothers), but I felt these scenes suffered from lack of subtlety, especially the kite scene. Still, I liked the fact he tried them.

I do have a number of critisisms though. Firstly, the plot can be a little slow at times which may not be to everyones tastes. Secondly, while the acting in the most part was OK, there were a few times (e.g. Cook's 'shocked and surprised' face in the first 10 minutes) which left me and the guys I was watching it with chuckling. Also the 'twist' ending is very predictable, and we had the whole second half of the movie figured out within the first twenty minutes. Still, theres at least a sense of contentment when things come together on screen how you predicted them.

Overall this is a mixed bag and not bad for a 1st time directorial effort - a mediocre but interesting suspense thriller which is worth a watch if you see it on TV.

Rating: 6/10

I thought this was an extremely well-done suspense mystery that attempts to answer the question: what does a young man do when he's in love with his best friend, only to see someone else move in on her? Jonathan Rhys-Meyers' performance was well beyond convincing, to the point where it felt I was watching actual events transpire before me. Overall, I thought this was a very good story line with some good plot twists. Rachael Leigh Cook and Shawn Hatosy were also well cast. This is the type of film that will generate a lot of things to discuss regarding the plot, antagonists and so far. It might not be Heat (my favorite film), but it's good.

Many critics will agree that the story of tangled does not hold up. The ending was surprisingly good. The narrator always has control of what he / she wants you to known. The idea that the narrator is lying, you wouldn't know unless the narrator tells you. Otherwise, what the narrator says is the truth. The acting is decent alongside the movie's production value. Although there is only brief nudity, the passion between the 3 main characters do hold up to keep the audiences attention. Rachael Leigh Cook, who continues to not show any skin, keeps her two "male" friends in limbo with who she wants to love and who she will only like. With a number of fake and absent sex scenes, Tangled is more of a tease than a thriller. With the good acting and average storyline, the movie is only worth watching once.

When I first saw this movie with friends, they thought it was confusing, but I followed the plot just fine. I have to admit, it wasn't the best movie I have ever seen, but anyone who is a fan of Rachel Leigh Cook, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, or Shawn Hatosy would like it. I, a huge fan of JRM, did. You can tell this was a low-budjet film, but the acting was great. The plot was a little far-fetched, but the ending was good. All in all, if you can't find anything to rent on a Friday night, grab a big ol' bag of popcorn, some friends, and try this movie... especially if want to see a really hott guy, JONATHAN RHYS MEYERS!

I am a huge fan on Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and he is the reason why I was dying to see this movie. For the amount of money that it cost to buy the DVD, I wasn't too impressed with the movie. The only reason to watch it is b/c of the photography scene. OOOh la la!!