Sarah Thomas

This is not a quality film and wastes the talents of Diaz and Mann. The other “actress” is not an actress and so not worthy of measure. It starts promisingly, with an engaging soundtrack and montage of a love affair getting started. The segue to revealing that Mark is a married man is efficient and deft. There are some comedic exchanges between Diaz and Mann’s characters, capitalising on Mann’s talents to portray ditzy characters and use physical humour. After that it goes off the rails. At a certain point you realise that the plot and character development are superficial, derivative and dimly sketched at best. There is no real pathos at any point and the moment of justice for Mark is overblown and non sensical. There is a lot more I could say but you get the idea. Watch something else: there are hundreds of better films in the same genre.

Middle of the road indeed. Politically correct pap, unrealistic (everyone is well to do and their small town is thriving with absurdly unnecessary businesses; school life is, as usually depicted on TV, far-fetched). It also feels preachy. Yet there is just enough plot and paranormal intrigue to keep you watching, if as another reviewer points out, you’re out of better shows.

No I didn’t get it (fully) while I was watching it... until the end. I didn’t want the ugly reality to be true. Wouldn’t we all prefer a sci-fi thought experiment? A bit of escapism? I was surprised to see even “reputable” reviewers tried to understand it through that lens. Are they dumb or naive? But in the end I was happier with the film for what it is - definitely not sci-fi. This was much better, and actually it only makes sense when taken as the drug-addled spiral of a depressed addict - fortunately, one for whom we have hope from the start. It’s a much better movie when taken in this light, and those who cannot or do not are being obtuse. Yet either way, it’s beautiful, creative, ingenious and moving. We care about the characters immediately. The critics are wrong. The movie is good.