This film was original and witty, containing moments of humour, and in spite of the often travelled sequence of events, had a heart and a substance to it. Directed by Vincent Gallo, the premise follows the story of a man let out of prison, who having not told his parents about his five year stint (concocting a neat little story explaining his absence), must go to his family's house with a wife he doesn't have. He kidnaps Christina Ricci's character, and the film follows the course of many kidnap films of this nature. Gallo's character seems like a mixture of Steve Buscemi and Robert Deniro (taxi driver), but it is Ricci, who yet again is beyond excellent in this film. She plays her role perfectly, and adds so much to the film. The other two main characters (minor roles) are the mother and father. THe mother was excellent in her role, playing the obssessed football fan with great authenticity. As we learn, the psychological effects of her obssession take away from much of the humour in her character. I later learned that Angelica Huston played that role (I didn't recognise her). Again, a very great performance. The father too was excellent in his role. Some of the movie flashbacks worked, others didn't. The ones that did work were excellent. The conclusion was surprising, but in a way, it's not what happens at the end that makes this film good. It is a great example of why art house movies should still be made, and why experimentation with film is necessarily good for cinema (while this one keeps to many traditional narrative outcomes/twists).

74/100