Complicity

First I read the book, which is highly recommendable, and I have it as one of my top books ever. Later on I watched the film, and I found it good. I think the characters are casted very well, except perhaps William, but, on the other hand, Keely Hawes plays Yvonne very well.

I think the film misses out some important information on the book that give sense to the story. The film changes a couple of things here and there and does not fully respect the final, which I find a bad error. I think if the film had been 30 minutes longer it would have been a world success.

My review seems negative but only because the book is superb. Of course the plot is good, the actors are good and the story flows well. I do wonder, however, if I have been able to follow the whole plot because I know the book inside out or because it is well told. I had the feeling a couple of times that the story was told in chunks.

Do watch the film, but read the book first

We were rather suspicious of this movie when we first sat down to watch it. My husband and I had both read the book and liked it very much, and since we hadn't heard of the adaptation before we suspected that it probably wouldn't be much good.

Boy, were we ever wrong.

The movie is slightly too gory at times for my personal taste, but then, so is the book. And it's hard not to be, in a story about the hunt for a mad but incredibly clever serial killer. The setting is just right, and the casting as well, and the story unfolds at a pace that just allows you to understand what's going on before the next twist to the plot.

Very highly recommended.

No idea how I missed this 24 years ago with most of the best acting talent that Scotland has to offer.

The set up is pretty good, but the longer the movie goes on the worse it gets.

There are several problems. The movie is not cinematic at all. It feels like a TV movie or part of TV series. Johnny Lee Millar is badly cast. In the first half he is a drinker, a drug taker and lots of kinky sex with Keeley Hawes as well as being a ballsy journalist. In the second half he becomes stupid, a cry baby and preaches about the dangers of drugs?

The biggest issue is how stupid he is not figure out how that he is being setup.

Simply unbelievable and badly acted.

A film based on the Iain Banks novel with the same name. As a major Iain Banks fan I decided to read the book before I watched the film, I'm sure glad I did. The book is very good (like all Banks's novels), unnerving, exciting and very well written. However, in the film the director have managed to exclude the good things about the book, resulting in a depressing, unthrilling thriller without bite. Only watch this if you're bored, actually don't, read the book instead!

Brave yet flawed adaption of Iain Banks' dark novel. The characters appear flat as they wade through some bland dialogue. Jonny Lee Miller goes through the remarkable events as if he were buying socks. The shocks and surprises fail to shock or surprise. A more full on darker thrust would have prevented this from resembling a poor episode of Taggart. Well done for having a go and well done for keeping it in Scotland rather than moving it to another locale.