Enduring Creepiness

But the whole deal is overproduced. For one thing, there's too much music, and it's too loud; occasionally, it nearly drowns out the dialogue. Also, the direction is manipulative. The film wants to know more than the audience; it wants to come from behind and surprise in a way that feels punishing, as though we were being taught a bitter lesson. The result is creepy and unpleasant. There is hope, however bleak, at the end -- it's the Ian McEwan kind of hope, where nearly everything has been lost anyway -- but mostly there's a sense of unnecessary devastation. No thanks.