Aedonerre I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.

Seraherrera The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

Brennan Camacho Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

Laurenosaur THIS REVIEW WILL CONTAIN MAJOR SPOILERS!I will be honest: at the beginning, I did not like this movie. It was very confusing to me. It jumps around, cuts out at weird times, and is kind of repetitive (maybe more than is needed...). But it also keeps you intrigued. Winona Ryder plays Martine, a director of a play starring her boyfriend Raymond, her friends Anita and Julie, and newcomer Tyrone, played by James Franco. It is unknown whether Martine is slowly losing her sanity, or if someone is slowly poising her over time (she at one point accuses Raymond of having an excess of copper supplements, and goes on to tell him that enough copper in your system can cause schizophrenia).At the same time tension is brewing between Tyrone and the others (except Martine). During dinner Anita is talking about how she doesn't know how to play "secretive" as Martine has directed her to do. Tyrone heavily implies that she is very good at being secretive, to which Anita and Raymond both are angered by. Throughout the film Anita almost seems to be repulsed by Tyrone, and Raymond is very vocal about his hard feelings for him.At the end of the movie EVERYTHING is explained. There was a creepy guy early in the movie who when Martine walked by him, he blew in her face. Of course, that left you wondering "WTF was that about?!"... well, it turns out that he blew a powder in her face, causing her slow descent into madness (truthfulness, willingness, delusions... this same powder was used in a Criminal Minds episode ..s6e23). And, curve ball. He was hired by Raymond to do it. Why you may ask? Well, Tyrone hit it right on the nail, and Martine figured it out as well. He was being naughty with Anita. I was left wondering though, if Martine would make a recovery or not. This movie could not have succeeded without the marvellous subtext done by the actors. Shout out to James Franco, who was just stunning with his... well everything. His body language, his dizzying array of facial expressions, his tone fluctuations... By far the best actor in the movie.Overall, definitely worth a watch if you're willing to pay attention. Some of James Franco's scenes are worth it alone ;)

sdanilina I rented this movie because initially I was a fan of James Franco... I did not even know what it was about nor did I care much because if it was a thriller with him, it's good enough for me to see in my down time. Now, enough about me... The movie itself; I feel like it is completely underrated, thus the review... The acting by the characters, I thought was amazing... The plot was simplistic at its best, in my viewpoint... there could have been two variations of what occurred; either Winona's character was honestly just bored with life in general and had hidden desires for Franco and thus created a world where all those familiar to her and she trusted had wronged her to give her an excuse to "take" action on her deeper feelings for this new man (the attempt to "kiss") OR her boyfriend was just a dirt bag who was wronging her from the very beginning. I found the story and the filming extremely interesting and refreshing in the sense that it really made you dive deep and think into the psychology of each character. Every point in the movie had indications leading you further into thinking more deeply. The bottom line as I saw it is that it's easy to see the main character as a psychotic and to "imagine" everything going on, it's a harder thought to see it is as the main character coming to terms with the fact that everyone around her is betraying her and thus her changing the script and using the "play" as her tool to deal with the actual reality that her boyfriend is cheating on her and that everyone around her knows it. I think just as in life, this movie tries to express that point; while things are clear to others, they make not be as clear to us as individuals who are invested. In a last note, I believe it is extremely difficult to attempt to film a movie in a first person narrative, so I completely applaud this one... It made me think and I enjoyed it, there should be more pieces like this.

lukebria Beautifully made, well-performed and thought-provoking film.I just finished watching this and cannot say for sure what happened to Winona Ryder's character. But you know what, that's not necessarily a liability. Is she suffering a schizophrenic breakdown, did she die and now she's talking to us from the afterlife, was she the victim of a murderous conspiracy by her cheating boyfriend--I don't know, but I look forward to watching this again and trying to figure it out.For those who gave this film 1 star and couldn't appreciate what the writer/director was doing with the slow pacing, the fading sound, the out-of-focus shots, etc., go see The Expendables 2: they keep things REAL SIMPLE there, just the way you likes 'em!

Tony Heck "On that first night of course we didn't know who you were, or what you would do to us, or what you would do to me." Martine (Ryder) is a New York playwright who is getting a chance to direct her boyfriend in a new play she wrote. Soon after rehearsals begin an unknown actor, Tyrone (Franco) shows up and begins to cause tension. His acting is good but he is hostile to everyone except Martine. While the rehearsals are going on Martine begins to become paranoid and thinks someone is trying to kill her. Her re-writes of the play begin to confuse the actors and the line between life and paranoia are blurred. First of all I will say this is not terrible but this is another movie that tries to be artsy for the sake of being artsy. I find the easiest way to describe movies sometimes are to compare them to others that many have seen. I open with that because it seemed like this movie tried it's hardest to be like "Black Swan" but never quite making it. Very limited scenery and actors but the main focus is on Martine's slow descent into madness. You begin to question if she is just overly paranoid or if her concerns are legit. This is the type of movie that keeps you wondering about that which helps you make it through. Overall, an OK movie but tried to be artsy for the sake of being artsy. I give it a B-.