- S: The reveals at the end make for some curious decisions in hindsight: in particular, an abandoned usb, a known conspiracy left unrevealed, and the death of a side character near the beginning of the film.
- C: Some excellent framing helps maintain tension during scenes where little is happening.
Lighting is a bit over-exposed, or rather the over-exposure is used too ubiquitously in the film. Costuming is great, but maybe a bit too glamorous/high quality for the characters' line of work. Great editing keeps the pace moving.
- E: Very tense, fun watch. Excellent realistic spy thriller with a mystery twist. Great music, which has a retro-vibe keeps rhythm and creates that perfect spy-movie feel.
- N: The subtleties of the story are the reason why this film works. However, the fishing bits feel a bit contrived, particularly the regular meetings out on the boat,
and Arthur's motives feel a bit unclear even after the end of the film. The death of a character early in the film and the reveal of the murderer creates more problems than solutions. However, I think the set-up is complex enough to keep things interesting even on re-watch, something that is somewhat rare for solved-mystery films.
- T: The film received four bonus points: one for a great shot where some glasses fog up while cooking (it reminded me of the look of lense-flaring in classic spy comics), one for the incredible
polygraph montage, one for a great performance from Marisa Abela, and one for a great nuanced scene in a theater.
Great film, definitely one of the best I've seen so far this year, and I enjoyed it even more on my second viewing. Fun, complex, and full of subtleties which are performed excellently. Particularly amazed by Marisa Abela's performance.
Number of Watches: 2
