Purpose

How do you measure success? By winning "the game"? This film does an excellent job of posing that question in the milieu of smart, driven, talented 20something cyberkings who make (and lose) it all in a high tech high stakes poker game. Who's bluffing and who's really got what it takes? "Purpose" is smart, funny, fast paced and right on top of its subject matter.

The best summary of the dotbomb era yet produced. Unfortunately, the appeal of this very articulate movie will always be very narrow. Those who were not caught up in the dotcom scam will probably not understand the profundity of the points presented. But for those of us Silicon Valley folk who were caught up in the explosive hypergrowth of the late 1990s, this movie serves as an excellent synopsis of what turned out to be one of the biggest equities scams in human history. Some of the most intelligent people on the planet lost sight of their live's goals and purpose, putting sustainable ventures on hold in pursuit of the quick score, gambling sustainable lifestyles in pursuit of the big win, sinking life savings (and kids' college funds, home equity, etc) in speculative ventures and questionable ideas, then losing everything when the sharks pulled out and the pyramid collapsed around those not smart enough to have pulled out.

Purpose. Awesome move, a must see for anyone in the technology field, or for anyone who lived through the insanity of the dotbomb scam.

I liked this story very much, especially in a time where greed and money seem to be the front page themes of our national headlines lately. Purpo$e did a good job of posing the question to it's audience, "Why do you do what you do?" It looked amazing and the pace was sharp. I especially enjoyed Hal Holbrook as the Old Money Tycoon. Alan Lazar did a very good job in his feature debut and I look forward to his future projects.

Purpose, as a whole, does a good job of showing how money, power, and life in the fast lane during the dot.com boom in San Francisco can corrupt even those with good intentions. Jeffery Donovan (Robert) is great as the smooth talking deal closer that visionary John Elias (newcomer John Light) hires to help start the company. Paul Reiser, hardly recognizable as the mentor and friend to John, is funny and adds a lot to the film. Mia Farrow looks stunning, yet believable as the financial mogul out to make some money off the new company. Hal Holbrook and Peter Coyote add to the film, if nothing else than recognizable faces and steady acting. The film looks amazing, with fantastic shots of San Francisco and creative interiors that dominate the new money internet offices. Could be a sleeper hit if all the people who lost their jobs in the dot.com bust want to re-live it. It has a deep meaning behind the story of quality over quantity. I'd recommend it.

A movie with a purpose! This movie is fresh, vibrant and fast paced. It tackles many social issues surrounding the moral and ethical values of our society. The struggle between good and bad is uniquely blurred, portraying the movie's hero in both roles. Commentaries on money, friendships and one's priorities are brilliantly intertwined into the intriguing plot. The viewer leaves the movie with a very powerful message that lingers on long after the credits have finished.... What is My purpose? Flameboy gives this one a Sizzling 9