My review will get panned as it's clear that many have had something to do with this film and thus the 7 rating.
Good: The acting is very good. Breslin does a great job as a young child who isn't quite sure whether the neighbor is truly helping or abducting her. Lewis is also excellent, very believable and always his character. The script is compelling in the sense that it's a good idea for a story. Lewis does a very good job being scrutinized as the only person on screen. That's not easy.
The Not So Good: The problem with the script is two fold. First, I had a hard time with credibility. You jump in to the film where a man who would be picked up by police quickly roams through a bus station. And the film is trying to pass off this "is he crazy or is he not crazy" question. But it is extremely exaggerated. And then this man, who appears to live barely day to day, also has a coke habit. It appears they are trying to portray the man as a schizophrenic but those don't know their other personalities. He's having a breakdown of sorts over a daughter he had and lost... although is it really the case? How about the woman he spoke to on the phone - or are we questioning whether she too is real? It sure seemed it to him during a lucid moment.
The lame: I understand what the filmmakers wanted to do. But all of promise of this "rewarding final third" of the film is just predictable and also not quite realistic. Neither were the liberties taken by the mother, which I will not write here. And then the ending.... no, it's not clever. It's usually a decision made to not want to provide a proper ending to a story, the usual gobbledygook about questions, choices, etc. Please... I didn't invest 90 minutes because I thought that all you wanted to do was show me a performance piece.
In the end, that's much of what this is - a low budget performance piece if you're up for that. They did a good job with what they have. And I will warn you now that you'll need complete patience to sit through this 90 minute film and realize that there isn't anything extraordinary statement made. It's more about the journey over a few days, if you believe it.
Good: The acting is very good. Breslin does a great job as a young child who isn't quite sure whether the neighbor is truly helping or abducting her. Lewis is also excellent, very believable and always his character. The script is compelling in the sense that it's a good idea for a story. Lewis does a very good job being scrutinized as the only person on screen. That's not easy.
The Not So Good: The problem with the script is two fold. First, I had a hard time with credibility. You jump in to the film where a man who would be picked up by police quickly roams through a bus station. And the film is trying to pass off this "is he crazy or is he not crazy" question. But it is extremely exaggerated. And then this man, who appears to live barely day to day, also has a coke habit. It appears they are trying to portray the man as a schizophrenic but those don't know their other personalities. He's having a breakdown of sorts over a daughter he had and lost... although is it really the case? How about the woman he spoke to on the phone - or are we questioning whether she too is real? It sure seemed it to him during a lucid moment.
The lame: I understand what the filmmakers wanted to do. But all of promise of this "rewarding final third" of the film is just predictable and also not quite realistic. Neither were the liberties taken by the mother, which I will not write here. And then the ending.... no, it's not clever. It's usually a decision made to not want to provide a proper ending to a story, the usual gobbledygook about questions, choices, etc. Please... I didn't invest 90 minutes because I thought that all you wanted to do was show me a performance piece.
In the end, that's much of what this is - a low budget performance piece if you're up for that. They did a good job with what they have. And I will warn you now that you'll need complete patience to sit through this 90 minute film and realize that there isn't anything extraordinary statement made. It's more about the journey over a few days, if you believe it.