a drama in parts

this films shows the story of a murder in a number of individual segments. each segment being about the people who are involved in the story in one way or another. the coroner, the woman who finds the body, the wife of the killer, the dead girl herself, etc. the story is built in this way. although, and i do have to say it because its why i wouldn't say this is a great movie, the movie builds to a crescendo but doesn't not tie everything together nor give much of a reason why we see some parts of the story. sure it doesn't have to but still it leaves me at least questioning the purpose of some things other than to just be shocking or strange.

take the segment about the woman who finds the body; its called "the strangers". a woman walking in a field finds a body of a woman. she steals her necklace and then goes back home to her ailing mother for whom she cares for. calls the police and news reporters show up too. now her mother, who is crazy mean, is pissed that people are on her property. the woman is also being watched/noticed everywhere she goes in town. so a creepy stockboy/checker at the market sees her askes her out presumably to talk about the dead girl which leads to the woman and her mother fighting later that night when shes getting ready to go out with him. now as if this hasn't gotten far enough away from the subject of the dead girl (and no the stockboy has exactly nothing more to do with her story), the date goes on as some fucked up fantasy of bondage and consensual rape. why? hell if i know, it has nothing to do with anything else in the film.

the segment on the killer's wife ends with her protecting the man by burning evidence. in the end the case is left unsolved. in fact, the last segment is about the dead girl and it ends with her in the car with the killer.

its an interesting story and its very well done. i simply take issue with some of the excess in that it doesn't add to the story. frankly its another movie where i begin to dislike almost everyone in it. and am left to write my own end story for these characters because otherwise they're left hanging.

watch but expect a bit of disappointment. there is nothing redeeming about this movie. maybe i felt there should be.

(7/10)

7/10