Excellent premise. Wonderful cast of well known faces. Challenging watch. A real moral conundrum.

I saw this when it came out on DVD about 10 years ago but I have to admit, I'd forgotten it. 10 minutes in, I realised I had seen it but the plot escaped me... Obviously I had put it on and paid little attention as I did other things. This viewing I won't forget.

It's a real head scratcher. The plot is relatively simple, a premise that forces a society that believes itself to be kind to be very unkind for the good of all.

Samuel L is the epitome of the necessary evil. Carrie Anne is the personification of morality.

It's a relatively short film and at times it feels like it was written for the stage - that Reservoir Dogs minimalism of locations.

All that said, there's something missing during the 3rd act. It pushes a little too far too quickly and loses believability. It walks a tight rope asking the audience to agree with the dissolution of morality and I felt it got ahead and took the viewer out of the film.

It recovers somewhat in the final 15 minutes and then makes its final second flawed move. It sticks an underwhelming landing.

I was left with plenty to think about and it is a largely well-executed potent endeavour. Another 10 minutes of runtime to rachet up the tensions in line with the characters' actions could have been a game changer here.


7/10