bob-694 This is a very good movie, as discussed by Janet Maslin in her NY Times review of same. It is very moody and "atmospheric" with a lot of silence between the lines, and I like that kind of film. The best part for me came at the very end when the Franz Liszt piano solo Liebestraum begins playing, and then during the credits you see the full performance (about 4 to 5 minutes long) by the pianist. I don't recall her name, but she appears to be very young, has long red hair, and plays like an absolute master. Thus I became a huge fan of Liebestrum, and its composer. Something similar happens during the credits of the movie The Pianist, where the performance of the piano music is actually a highlight of the film.

aout22 This movie was strange yet intriguing. I could not quite figure out who the woman in the wheel chair was. Who was the pregnant woman? Why did the movie continually move back and forth in time? Was the woman in the hospital really his mother? What was the significance of the building and its demolition? I was totally confused by its plot. Just when I thought I had the plot figured out , another twist would take hold. I was not sure why the woman in the wheelchair's eyes appeared as they did and the purpose of the main character's lover assisting her. Was there some relevance to this particular scene. Most confusing was the two shootings. First flashback the perpetrator was a man, the second was a pregnant woman. Who really shot the mother? Confused!

douglasjgall A movie this muddled doesn't deserve much of a review. The plot, such as it is: an architect comes to a dying city to visit his dying mother. He tries to save a dying building (where people somewhat mysteriously really died many years ago in flagrante delecto) and is dying to have sex with his buddy's wife and solve the previously referred to mystery.This is some type of film noir I suppose, and supposedly an erotic thriller, but although it has some dirty bad language it isn't very erotic and it certainly isn't thrilling. None of the plots is particularily believable, and the question of whether they are going to tie together in the end is, yeh, but it requires such suspension of belief that the whole thing seems quite ridiculous. But don't worry, you will have lost all interest in this movie long before that. There is a "twist" at the end, which you don't see coming (until about 5 minutes before) because it doesn't make logical sense. This was tough going. Nicolas Cage was in Leaving Las Vegas by the same director, and my advice is leave Las Vegas or any other city where this movie is playing. Whoever in Hollywood approved this movie should be force to sit through it. Any other potential viewer, however, should not.

tedg Spoilers herein.Figgis has real talent. He's unpredictable, but here he really sings. This is great, intelligent. Many compare it to `Dead Again' which debuted in the same year and which had star appeal. That film was an actor's romp, this is a filmmaker's song. This has many features that I find really attractive in a film:-- films that construct and fold realities, this despite the blizzard of recent such films. The folding isn't particularly clever plotwise, but it does not intend to be, instead relying on the mechanics listed below.-- films where buildings are characters and photographed as such. The cool thing here is the deliberate projection of the architect's fantasy as a building, which it would be when his passions are centered on buildings.-- films that are firstly cinematic and then dramatic. `Dead Again' was conceived and executed as a drama with the projection from the actors and story -- as noted, this starts with a complex of images (and sound! don't forget the sound) with everything in service to that.-- films that reinvent mystery cinematically. This wasn't the most engaging mysterywise, but I don't think a good film solution has been found yet.Plus, the characters here are so, so physically attractive. The whole thing revolves around Alicia Witt (the redheaded girl/whorehouse pianist). If you understand her, you got it. This is stuff worth watching with your eyes.You must, must see it with the missing scene restored -- or if viewing via DVD, go to the extra scene manually when Nick gets a ride back from the party with the sheriff. Do your part to prevent forest fires.