L'impostore

Somehow this hidden treasure had escaped my radar until now. As usual Tim Roth does not disappoint. The accused characters mentally abused by his disconnected parents, epilepsy and absinthe addicted personality seems custom written for Roth. In truth, few other actors could have pulled that off. There are stories within stories here and the movie holds your attention throughout. A modern day noir with a great surprise ending. Two powerhouse actresses, Patricia Arquette and Renee Zellwegger were under utilized in this film. Chris Penn gives an adequate performance as the junior and somewhat less intelligent assistant detective, but his ignorance is not as great as the audience is made to think. I was a little surprised by the relatively low 6.4 rating. This film deserves much better. Well worth your time.

This movie has first class acting.Tim Rooth delivers a great performance and so does Michael Rooker.The movie is very dark and mysterious.A big part of the movie takes place in a little room,but this just helps make the movie even better.The story is really clever and it reminds me a lot of Usual suspects.This movie uses good camera work and great acting to build the story,and that is they way it should be.Good thriller with lots of suspense.

There are two reasons to see Deceiver - one is for the great performance from the always-superb Tim Roth, and the second is for the superb performance from the always-great Tim Roth. In all fairness, the two detectives and Renee Zellweger were excellent as well. The story is convoluted in a way but sometimes that's not really a bad thing, if the convoluted-ness is done in a creative fashion, as it is here. I have to say that I saw the ending coming about three-fourths of the way through, but it was still very engrossing nonetheless, the kind of film that leaves you nodding with a satisfied smirk on your face at the end because you DID figure it out, and sometimes that's not a bad thing either.

The movie "Deceiver" was done in a very creative and unusual style. Unconventional camera angles and editing lent well to the story line's confusion and general uneasiness that the actors themselves were feeling. The film is thought provoking with excellent character portrayals. Tim Roth's performance was exceptionally believable and extremely well done. All in all, a very well thought out production that I thoroughly enjoyed!

The cast, the camera work, the music and the dialogue all create a dark and surreal tone that's haunting and riveting. Tim Roth, Renee Zellweger and Ellen Burstyn all dominate so completely that you can't look at anyone else when they're onscreen. It's as much an exercise in acting and "mood" as anything, but the story is fun to follow. I don't think it's supposed to be "believable" in the literal sense. How can it be when they throw in epilepsy, absinthe, prostitution, family dysfunction, etc. Every character was well-cast (LOVED the psychologist) and the tension and undertones in the actor's interactions with each other make it an impossible-to-forget movie. It's one of the few I own. The scenes with Mook (Burstyn) as well as those with Roth and Zellweger are ingenious. A movie that must be watched closely to understand the ending.