Let me preface this review with some important information about myself. I don’t do well with scary movies. I don’t like things popping out at me. I don’t like creepy people. This is a person who had Bilbo Baggins' psycho face from the scene near the end The Fellowship of the Ring branded onto my eyeballs for weeks after seeing it. I think you get my point. Now, I’m not saying this is a scary movie, but rather that it does contain some elements that are scary-movie-like that are not my favorite. These elements made the movie somewhat difficult for me to watch, but I’ll do my best to try and leave out my terrified bias.
Visually and conceptually this movie is very well done. The time period and place are very believable, and the flashbacks and dreams are dynamic in color and plot. Although many of the visuals are disturbing, they do not feel out of place and are executed with a style and consistency with the period. They shock the audience’s mind, and leave us searching for answers just as much as DiCaprio’s character is. As for Leonardo DiCaprio, he does a stand out job at freaking out. Obviously, that’s not all he does, but I will say it takes up a large chunk of his time. It appears the he and the audience are often unsure what exactly is going on. This uncertainty keeps you completely engaged in the story-line. I won’t give away the big finale… but I found it a nice twist, if not exactly the ending I wanted. Once out of the theater I actually found the ending comforting, allowing me to remind myself that the more frightening sequences had a purpose.
On a somewhat odd side note, I found the music rather odd. I believe this movie to be a more sophisticated thriller, but the music was classic and cliché “scary movie music.” The foreboding tune was consistent, and perhaps this was just my theater, but LOUD. It almost seemed like the makers might be mocking this type of music because of how prevalent it was.
Overall, I’d recommend it. It makes you think and certainly keeps you interested. Plus Leo’s accent is fun to listen to.
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