Snakeeater

For me this was like Hitchcock meets Orson Wells meets M. Night Shyamalan meets Christopher Nolan's Memento, ... meets gritty detective story. Is that a spoiler? Maybe. But probably not ;-).

I'm not saying this is Citizen Kane or North by Northwest... and this movie takes you through some familiar places and tropes (How many spooky stories are there anyway?) but the ride is fun and not all the dark alleys and twists are familiar ones. The lead actors do a very credible job... the supporting characters are spot-on. I'm no film/cinematography expert, or even a knowledgeable amateur fan, but this was fun to watch, if just for the visuals, particularly one scene near the end with some weird lenses and perspectives. I can't believe it doesn't have more buzz than it does.

The writing of this film is so well thought out, down to the smallest detail. The cinematography shows New York in a way you don't ever see it- isolated, dark, and overall eerily quiet. You think you have things figured out with the film and then there is a major twist at the end. The actors are well-suited for their roles and really help make the film. It is a great film to re-watch so that you don't miss out on any of the details that are sprinkled throughout the movie. I would highly recommend watching this movie if you like suspenseful thrillers that keep you guessing all the way until the end.

You tend to see films like this trying to mimic Seven or Silence of the Lambs or Momento. But this film, while living in this universe, definitely carves out it's own space. The lead is great, the camera work is great. The script is solid and I cared about all the characters in the sense that they seemed lived in. Only gripe I had was that there were some real world inconsistencies, like the main character drinking in a bar all night to the point where it's last call and he's begging for one last drink, then he's suddenly back on the case acting sober. Sure, given the reality of the story that makes sense, but it also bumped me just a tad.

But great stuff.

Snakeeater is obviously a small movie made on what looks like a tiny budget with little known actors, but it's interesting enough for a one time watch I and ended up liking it. As a photographer I was greatly impressed by the way this movie looks, the cinematography is outstanding and adds to the story and atmosphere. It really is one great shot after another. The locations used are also perfect. As a whole the movie works, someone put a lot of thought into how this movie looks and connects to the story it tells. The big problem with the movie is that for most of it, there is no action, just scene after scene of people talking. If you're going to make a movie that relies heavily on just conversations, the script better be top notch and fascinating and this just isn't. It isn't a long movie, and it does pick up towards the end but it feels like it takes a long time to get going. While I liked the story, it isn't exactly an original one, and I did figure it out beforehand. The performances are Ok, some better than others. I think I was most impressed by the way this movie looks. It needed a better script and some actual action.