Entrance

The first and only IMDb review I read for this movie said to go into it blindly, so I did without even reading the rest of the review. Going into it blindly is the best advice anyone could give. And if you read the rest of this review, don't worry I won't expose a thing. I won't even tell you what genre this film is (because as far as I can tell it isn't any genre).

I'll be honest and say I hated the first 12 minutes because it seemed indulgent & pointless. Also I'm not really a fan of hand-held camera work. But luckily I have a tolerance/attention span of exactly 13 minutes because that's when a story began to develop. And ultimately I realized even those "pointless" 12 minutes had a point. It sets up a very subtle yet pervasive metaphor, the soul of the whole movie.

Slowly, so slowly that you might not even notice (which I'm sure was the filmmakers' intent) the film starts to get under your skin. And although the only quantifiable storyline for the first 40 minutes is a girl and her dog, it's done so convincingly and, yes, suspensefully that I was hooked. And that, my friends, is all I will say about the plot because you shouldn't expect anything more.

Now a few notes about technique... The directors did something very interesting by never taking the camera off the lead actress throughout the whole movie, not once. Also the camera would sometimes run long, continuous shots without cuts. While this method may sacrifice momentum and some viewer interest, it adds tremendous realism, almost like a documentary feel. And we begin to connect with the heroine even though she doesn't say much. And of course the difficulty in staging the rest of the action while always keeping her in the shot must've been no easy task. The final 22 minutes is a very impressive achievement, all done in one continuous take with a lot going on, and I mean a whole lot.

People have called this film "experimental", but there's no experiment about it. This is a fully finished product with a great style, a novel approach, and certainly the most memorable ending I've seen in ages, ending on an image which I can't decide if it's chilling, hilarious or beautiful.

Somehow a favorable review from Stephen King still hasn't provided this movie the cult fandom it deserves.

Though it was directed by two men, the story is from a female writer, and that shows in the film's excellent portrayal of the constant quiet threat of living in a big city as a single woman. The palpable tension in moments when harassment might become something worse builds a healthy paranoia in both the lead character and its viewers.

I say healthy paranoia because it is not ill-placed. By the end of the movie, we have been shown in unblinking detail exactly what there is to fear, and it is relentless and unforgiving. The power of the final act, though, only works because of the glacial pace of the first hour, making us froghtened and restless in various turns. Like life, the trouble comes at the point we're least ready.

This movie follows an aimless young woman in LA. That would be fine for 20-30 minutes, and it's bearable for a while mainly because she's beautiful. It's not until the very last 10 or 15 minutes that something happens, terribly unexpected and frankly, quite disjointed. We kept waiting for something to happen, and by the time it did, my husband was fast asleep. Not that I blame him-- I was jealous. This movie is perfect to help you get to bed at night. Some people called this movie a "slow burn." I'd say it's NO burn, and then sudden burn. Others say we need too much stimulation that we call this boring. But the main character also felt that her life was boring. So why should we have to suffer through it, too? Wow, I honestly can't believe IMDb is forcing me to write more. There is more action in my review than there was in the entire movie. I registered on this site just so I could write this review and warn others away.

I can sum up this movie in 2 words. It Sucked!!! A total waste of time... The main character is a 20's something girl, who shares an apartment with another woman in an undisclosed city. She's slightly paranoid, has obvious anti social behavior, owns a dog and lives with a roommate who always seems to go out of town on the weekends. If I were a professor teaching "Film Making" I would definitely use this flick as an example of "How NOT to Make a Movie". This movie lacks the following basic criteria: 1. Plot, 2. Character development, 3. Meaningful dialog, 4. Transition, 5. Relationships 6. Action, 7. Sensible climax.

Bottom line, you would derive more pleasure from watching paint dry.

It's a chilling ending that's unfortunately undermined by several things 1 – it is so slow and takes 50 minute to get to some action 2 – It is so slow I had to go to bed half way through and watch the rest the next night 3 – Back yard acting 4 - Do not waste your time watching this movie 5 - This is an "ART MOVIE "only 6 - It is slow, really slow 7 - I was told by my partner that the ending was worth it. WRONG SO WRONG 8 - No point to wait until the end. Please save your valuable time – I hope you choose wise I signed up to IMDb to save you 90 minutes of pain (The only horror about this movie)There are so many good movies out there so DON'T watch this one – I could make a better one