I loved the first hour of the film. I never really thought much of Anton Yelchin until this film. He's good. And I never really thought much of Jodie Foster's directing until this film. She's great.
It's the script that lets them down. What's the message? What's the heart of the story? If it's about a father trying to connect with his eldest son, the material is woefully shortchanged. Is it a story about a marriage falling apart? If that's the case, again, there's not enough fireworks. Is it simply about a man coming to terms with his own demons? If it is, the message has gotten diluted along the way.
The last half hour of the film really diminishes the set-up. The story goes off the rails and never gets back on track. Mel Gibson cuts off his hand and that's supposed to solve everything? Yelchin yells at Jennifer Lawrence and that's supposed to suddenly lay her angst to rest?
Terrible.
Hope Jodie Foster gets more material to direct though. For that first hour, she displayed a sure hand and a gift for eliciting great performances.
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