Sunday, August 02, 2009

The Killing Room



In this psychological thriller from director Jonathan Liebesman, four volunteers sign up for a typical paid research study, only to discover that they have unwittingly become involved in something far more extreme. Meanwhile, as the cold and analytical Dr. Phillips (Peter Stormare) controls the study to get the answers he wants, the newest addition to his team - military psychologist Ms. Reily - is also under scrutiny in order to determine if she is ready to work on this project.

Chloë Sevigny as Emily Reily and Timothy Hutton as Haines both give their very best in this movie, with flawless performances, and generally speaking acting is very good. Peter Stormare appears to have been doing about a dozen movies a year for the last couple of years, but still manages to impress me all the time. And I had never heard of Nick Cannon but from now on I will pay attention to him.

The movie was rated “R” in the U.S. and it is understandable, since there is a certain degree of violence and blood. Be prepared to be shocked.

At a certain point I started to fear that this movie would be predictable in terms of what was really happening and the final outcome, but at least for me that was not what happened, and I’m very pleased about it. It’s a solid script under Ann Peacock’s experienced hand.

Ultimately, this is one of those occasions where you are left to ponder on several interesting questions: what are human beings willing to do to survive and what their limits are. What will they do for their careers, their beliefs and their Country? And, on a different level, what is your Government willing to do in the name of specific interests it may have in a certain historical context. And can we protect ourselves or are we just pawns in the hands of powerful organizations, whatever their nature or mission might be?

Green light to this one!


Watch trailer @ Movie On Companion

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