Leo

I agree with the reviewer who wrote that "Leo" is vulnerable to charges of being pretentious. It also dips into melodrama in a couple scenes involving Dennis Hopper's stock villain, and some of the other characters needed to be fleshed out more. However, I would much rather see a first time director tackle a project with the complexity and ambition of "Leo" than to have them make yet another pseudo wry, post modern, Tarantino imitation, or, worse, a boring, routine slasher film. Therefore, I applaud Mehdi Norowzian for his effort, even if his reach may currently exceed his grasp. I will look forward to seeing future efforts from a director who obviously has talent. BTW, I think one of the "external reviews" makes an issue of Norowzian's background in commercial work. I don't understand the negative view of this. Many talented filmmakers got their start directing commercials or music videos. Robert Altman made industrial films before his first, undistinguished feature, which starred future "Billy Jack," Tom McLoughlin. A person has to learn their craft somewhere. There are only so many Orson Welles types who spring forth a genius in their first effort.

This film held my interest from beginning to the very end with Joseph Fiennes, (Stephen) leaving a prison after serving a sentence of murdering a man and has been given a job at a dinner with some very strange people running the establishment. Dennis Hopper,(Horace) plays the role of a very dirty filthy old man who abuses a young waitress in sexual ways to degrade her. There are two central characters who appear in this film which has flashbacks with Elizabeth Shue, (Mary Bloom) who is a very attractive young woman who is married to a professor and lives in a very comfortable home and has a young girl. Mary Bloom is told that her husband is having an affair and Mary reacts by making love to a man who is painting her home and from this point in the film everything begins to turn into many different kinds of mysterious events. Great acting by the entire cast and especially the performance of Elizabeth Shue. Enjoy

I try not to have great hopes for movies, however I was pleasantly surprised.

I was afraid that it was going to dark, but instead it offers a very strong main character. Not like a action bondy type, but a rare inquisitive thoughtful man. There are some dark elements to it where people are just cruel.

The story time line is not linear, and I was impressed at how well the whole thing ended. Its not really a feel- good type, definitely was a cure for the common movie. While not being perfect, I really enjoyed it.

The movie itself is a kind of southern Gothic drama with a very distinct cinematographic approach. The storyline is made up of two subtly intertwining narrative layers that make the movie as a whole hard to grasp at the first look, but thoroughly convincing as an independent character study at last. Very complex material in terms of plot and narrative style, very gloomy and depressing in terms of character portrayal and very distinct in terms of pace and cinematography. A convincing and experienced cast round off the movie's basic quality. The complexity and the unusual style might make it hard to digest for the masses, but it is a real gem for people who like to look beyond the surface and dive into the mind of the protagonist.

Joseph Fiennes is a fine actor, and the consistency of his performance is very much the centrepiece of this movie. There are elements of the script which don't seem as coherent, but I could gloss over these because of his consistency.

I like the look of the movie, and the direction costumes and sets complemented each other well, and this was maintained in recounting present day and 'flashback' experiences.

There are comparisons to other films which could be made, especially to Blue Velvet. Indeed Dennis Hopper could have made the two films without changing stride. And Fiennes' character is similar to that played by his brother Ralph in Cronenberg's masterpiece Spider, without the same degree of madness.

I picked up fairly early on the way the plot would head, and I was right. The late novelist Kurt Vonnegut used to often tell the reader how the book would end in the first chapters, and yet the books were compelling. I found this equally so.