I did not expect much of this movie but I am glad to have watched it, since it combines good acting with some issues which are crucial and problematic in terms of "state founded on the rule of law".
Richard Gere is very good in this one; as somebody said before, he manages to be neither good-looking nor charming in order to depict a convincing character. His character is confronted with the issue of the society failing to punish sexual offenders and murderers for any reasons - and, as a result, starts executing self-justice on them. It is a very important and disturbing moral question whether one is supposed to follow the official rules and respect the human rights of criminals or to follow his own sense of justice and of moral values which are neglected by police and the courts. The movie does not provide a definite answer to this question; instead, it simply shows how the matters of justice can ruin a human's existence, but it also shows that the rights of victims are often neglected in order to preserve the rights of offenders and that there is not always a chance of "recreating" criminals to decent people - and lets the spectator contemplate on these issues. Since the movie is loosely based on such cases of serial murders as Frederick & Rosemary West or Paul Bernardno & Karla Homolka, is has a very realistic component about it.
I did not particularly like Claire Danes in this one, but I never do. She is a mediocre actress without charm or even a pretty face, so her character is not convincing in this movie. But this is a problem of miscasting and not of bad directing or script.
Richard Gere is very good in this one; as somebody said before, he manages to be neither good-looking nor charming in order to depict a convincing character. His character is confronted with the issue of the society failing to punish sexual offenders and murderers for any reasons - and, as a result, starts executing self-justice on them. It is a very important and disturbing moral question whether one is supposed to follow the official rules and respect the human rights of criminals or to follow his own sense of justice and of moral values which are neglected by police and the courts. The movie does not provide a definite answer to this question; instead, it simply shows how the matters of justice can ruin a human's existence, but it also shows that the rights of victims are often neglected in order to preserve the rights of offenders and that there is not always a chance of "recreating" criminals to decent people - and lets the spectator contemplate on these issues. Since the movie is loosely based on such cases of serial murders as Frederick & Rosemary West or Paul Bernardno & Karla Homolka, is has a very realistic component about it.
I did not particularly like Claire Danes in this one, but I never do. She is a mediocre actress without charm or even a pretty face, so her character is not convincing in this movie. But this is a problem of miscasting and not of bad directing or script.