Manic stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Don Cheadle, two actors I find some of the best in recent years. In Manic, they play men conflicted with their present situations. Cheadle is supposed to be in charge and keep everything under control, but he finds it too overwhelming for him to handle.
The star of Manic is clearly Gordon-Levitt. He acts mostly with his eyes, but his actions are just as powerful. He also has a murderous glint in his eyes more than once throughout Manic. It has to be one of his best performances.
Although Gordon-Levitt and Cheadle are the buoys for Manic, they can't stop it from sinking. The camera work is too jumpy and the same can be said about the plot. Neither are content to staying put. Personally, this is an "enter at your own risk" kind of movie, and I don't mean that in a good sense.
My Rating: ***1/2
Haven't seen this in quite some time but I did like the performances, and how the whole story sort of played out against cliches. Nice review.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed Manic, but the camera work is horrible. Still, I'm glad it brought Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel together, they make a good pair.
ReplyDeleteManic is by far, (by. far.) my very favorite JGL performance. I love how raw this flick is, how jumpy and shaky and so on. Love the Aphex Twin music, love that two of its stars wrote it (based on their personal experiences).
ReplyDeleteHowever, I can easily see why someone wouldn't like it, so I think your review is fair.