The film opens brightly enough, with an excellently funny story of how a youth killed himself. Thought the film would possibly be what I wanted – a classic. Maybe I thought the film was going to be too good (see Mutt and Lizard’s reviews of ‘Good Will Hunting’ – don’t get me started on how they butchered the film though!) and marked it against this expectation.

Each story is interwoven into another and they all lead to a climax of events that involve the characters from each. It’s an interesting attempt, something very similar to ‘Go’, and like ‘Go’, suffers from just not being a good enough film to pull it off. Some of the stories are very interesting, others, especially the theme involving the dying father are coma-inducing.

The line-up of stars in this film is very impressive – Philip Baker Hall, Julianne Moore, Tom Cruise et al. The performance of Cruise (who got an Academy Award Nomination for a portrayal) as a preacher, selling a psychology show to men on how to control their bodies and how to attract women, is especially memorable. Moore’s portrayal of a woman who seems keen to collect on inheritance and dispose of her rich husband is moving too, but somehow the film needs that little something more. At over three hours running time, it certainly isn’t additional content.

One scene I certainly did like was where it started raining…frogs! For some reason, my perverse brain loved the splattering and general feel to these scenes. I guess, I’d have to say that my lack of closeness with any of the characters probably didn’t help me enjoy the film. I think the director’s intention was for the viewer to find some sympathy with one or more of the characters. I didn’t, unfortunately.

Video and sound quality are both excellent. The Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround soundtrack is excellent, picking up the subtleties of rain to the deep bass of the gun fire superbly. The picture quality is extremely clear, and only on a few occasions does the richness of the black colouring look faded.