James Williams

I'm so glad I didn't pay theater pricesTo see this movie. As a streaming diversion, it was not terrible. But in general, I found the characters and their motivations weirdly drawn. Best, but underutilized character...the daughter. There was no need whatsoever for Ron Perlman's character (the ONLY good bad-guy) to be flippantly harpooned by the least affective character...the mother. And the ending was just disappointing!

I enjoyed the performances overall. But (having no prior knowledge), I felt a lack of exposition. Why did Ruskin make his inability into Effie's sin? However, that lack certainly keeps the viewer feeling Effie's relentless frustration.

I just LOVED this noir masterpiece! Sorry for so many unresolved story-arcs. But as the showbiz adage goes, "Always leave 'em wanting more!"