Have you seen LAC? Post your review/thoughts

I thought it might be fun to have a thread where people who have seen the movie post your thoughts/reviews. Please use the spoiler tag for those who have not seen the movie if you are going to post specifics.

Okay, I'll start. I saw the movie today. Full disclosure: I saw this will a group of attorneys, and thus our perspective is somewhat colored by our legal backgrounds. All in all, I found it entertaining. One person, thought it was very good. I thought it was good and another was not impressed ( a guy).

Going into the film I knew that it would not be an accurate representation of the legal system and the roles involved, and thus I knew that I would have to suspend some sense of realism and go with the Hollywood version of the legal system. Before the movie, I found the trailer somewhat implausibe, i.e. a hot shot D.A. (or A.D.A) Jamie Foxx listening to Gerry's "confession" and thinking he had a confession of murder, seemed ridiculous to me. Anyone who has taken Criminal Law 101 (let alone a true D. A.) would know that the elements of murder had not been met. Even a layperson would know that it seemed like Gerry was talking in circles - "I wanted him dead, I imagined it many times in my head.......". So I thought the fact that Gerry then had to spell it out to Jamie that he really didn't have an air tight confession seemed sort of ridiculous. It just didn't go with the "hot shot D.A." character of Jamie Foxx. But beyond that there were many plot holes that I found somewhat distracting.

Spoiler:

The film itself was suspenseful and good. I liked the cat and mouse aspect of the movie. I also expected it to be more graffic than it was based on the hype. I was glad that it wasn't too "horror/slasher".

The first 2/3 of the movie was good and Gerry's portrayal of a devasted husband and victim was dead on and very moving. His portrayal as a changed man who then transitioned into a hardened sociopathic killer was also good. But I thought the last 1/3 of the movie kind of fell apart. I think the fact that they have hyped this movie as a cross between "Seven" and "Silence of the Lambs" worked against them for me personally. I expected a lot because those two movies, IMO, were incredibly suspenseful and original. This movie was more of a "lighter" version for me. There could have been more development of the main characters. I found the dialogue between Gery and Jamie somewhat preachy. I thought there could have been more character development, but that is just a personal opinion and preference. I also found the ending somewhat anticlimatic.

Gerry's performance was good. Don't get me wrong. But it was not equal to that of Kevin Spacey or Sir Anthony Hopkins - they owned their roles in "Seven" and "SOTL". Gerry did a good job with his role, I just wish there had been more development. On a purely visual level, the butt shot

Spoiler:

The movie was good. And would have probably been better for me personally had I not seen the clip of him in his cell with his cellmate and what transpired as well as known that he was a "brain" from the main trailer. There is fine line between showing enough in a trailer to entice an audience to go to the movie, and showing so much that it takes away from some of the surprise and suspense of the story as it unfolds naturally.

All in all, it's a good movie. It's not great, IMO, and for that I'm somewhat disappointed because I wanted to be blown away. After reading a review that said that Gerry's performance could possibly bring him some sort of award-type recognition, it reinforced my expectations. But I personally don't think the character was enought to do that. Gerry did a very good job with the character and the depth of that character as written. I would have liked to seen more.

I also found his accent a little distracting, as I always do when he tries to speak with an American accent. I thought it was better than in TUT (which I found EXTREMELY distracting as it seemed to be all over the place) but it was still odd to me. It took me out of the movie somewhat and I think he would have been creepier if he had been able to use his natural accent instead of contorting his face with an American one. It made him seem less sinister and more like a man with a speech impediment.

I enjoyed the movie all in all, but wish that I hadn't had such high expectations going in because I think I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't heard anything about the movie having a 95 percent rating etc. All in all, it's a good first venture for Evil Twins and a good movie and performance by Gerry.

I would love to hear what you all thought (especially for those with no legal background clouding your opinion of the story etc.)


Edit for typos

Dallas, you covered most of what I thought of the movie. Gerry's performance was great. And I agree that his and Jamie Foxx's characters could have been more developed. I don't know if it was because I knew so much about the movie beforehand, that I wasn't on the edge of my seat. There were a couple of unexpected moments that caused a "wow" and even some laughs. My hubby, on the other hand had more of edge of the seat feeling and again I think it's because he didn't know any previous info on the movie. But having had some previous info myself, I feel like a lot of the film ended up on the cutting room floor. There seemed to be gaps in places.

The ending?

Spoiler:

Thanks for starting the discussion, ladies. I have to admit that I really want to see this film because genuine thrillers (legal or not) are few and far between ... and of course are all heavily dependant on superior writing. But it hasn't opened in Australia yet.

Does else anyone wonder if Frank Darabont has seen it yet and what his opinion is? I hope we find out some day.

I just got back from seeing it, and I have to say I enjoyed it even more the second time around. The first time there was a lot of distractions with people walking up and down the aisle at the premiere, and sometimes it was hard to hear the dialogue over the general theater noise. Seeing it in a more intimate setting gave me a chance to get more into the movie, and less on what was going on around me.

The audience reaction was wonderful, and there were as many (if not more) men in the theater than women. The movie keeps you on the edge of your seat, and even the ending (which some have been saying is rather weak) has a meaning and an irony that I won't reveal because not everyone has seen it. But I can tell you, it's worth it to go watch. I think it's the best thing Gerry has done since 300 and POTO.

I just got back from seeing it...

I do have to say, I really enjoyed the characters in this story. Gerry and Jamie, and others were great. As much as I appreciated all the work everyone did here to get clips, I purposely didn't watch any of them. So I was pretty surprised at a lot of things.

I did read Dallas' review right before I left, and I can see a lot of stuff that she mentioned in her point of view as someone who works in law, although I didn't peek at the spoilers...yes, I can wait for things.

I will never answer my cell again....I never liked my cell, now I have a psychological reason not to touch it.

I thought the plot was clever, though.

Also forgot to put that I'll have to see it again, because my ride was late...so we got to the theater when Gerry was in the blond wig.