The Ex

"David Kenyon" (Nick Mancuso) is a successful architect who has remarried after divorcing his first wife "Deidre Kenyon" (Yancy Butler) seven years earlier. His second wife "Molly" (Suzy Amis) is not aware that he had been married previously. Neither does she know that Deidre had been committed to a mental institution and has recently arrived back in New York with the desire to get her husband back--regardless of what it takes. Now, while other films like "Fatal Attraction" have already covered the "psychotic girlfriend/wife scenario" what makes this particular movie interesting is the performance of Yancy Butler. She was both hot and crazy. On the flip side though, there were a couple of scenes that simply went beyond the boundaries of realism and had me shaking my head in disbelief a couple of times. Only in Hollywood. That being the case I have rated this movie accordingly. Average.

Ok, it's not a big budget film and the cast isn't exactly up to par, but there's one awesome reason to love this movie - Yancy Butler. Her performance is fierce, and so is the character she plays. If you love bad guys, they don't get any badder than this.

This film works on so many levels.. For example, when that guy takes a drag of his cigarette whenever he forgets his lines... & when that chick gets her nor ks out.. & when someone got drowned.. & when that guy goes "NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO! WHY!?!" when his girlfriend dies.. & when that other thing happened.. & when that black guy calls the main dude a "Bastard".. & when the little kid sets the girl on fire.. & old ladies getting killed by a handbag.. Brilliant!!!! It changed my life. Also, it was good. Much better than X men. Thats another film with X as the first word, therefore it's the only film that can be compared. Nine thumbs up!

At first glance, this film seems to be about a murderous ex-wife who is resorting to vengeance to vindicate her previous relationship. However, I do actually believe that 'The Ex' is way more than that. As a psychological thriller, it features one of the most distressing studies of psychotic and mental disorders that I have seen in a long time and proves how dangerous they can be if they are left unchecked.

I found Yancy Butler's performance as Deidre Kenyon in this film to be brilliant. Not only was she absolutely stunning here, even my girlfriend kept going on about how beautiful Butler's eyes are when my girlfriend has green eyes herself, but she nails what must have been a difficult portrayal of a very troubled mental disorder patient with homicidal tendencies. She is the star of this film, I believe she was truly outstanding here.

As far as psychological thrillers go, 'The Ex' is perfectly enjoyable despite some minor flaw here and there (I would have chosen a different child actor as Michael Kenyon, for example as he was not a proper fit for such a role). Its best parts are when the story focuses on aspects of crime and the criminal system.

"I must say that this film somewhat surprised me and that after a short while I found myself still attached to the tube (at 12:30) a.m. in the morning (something which I didn't expect when the film began). The main reason for me staying up late to see this through, was the sometimes great acting by Yancy Butler (Deirdre). I mean she makes for one hell of a psycho in the end, although I must admit that her 'act' was a bit overdone at one or two times and didn't come off believable anymore. Since the story and the other characters were OK to good as well, I enjoyed the movie up until the end, when finally the bummer came. What a simple and lame ending this film has. It ruined it all for me and I felt as if I was in 'Child's Play 4'or something. Too bad, but because of the ending (ONLY)...

5 out of 10