CinemaClock Salmon Arm

The most painful thing about this movie is that it is uneven. The strong parts make the weak parts stand out so much more. For example, there is a time twist at the outset and the director is willing to allow three horses to function as an ambiguous sign. I was impressed by the subtlety of the sign as it appeared later in the text, but that spoke to me of the power of the Realm book, which while it was mentioned was never really discussed. Another reviewer accurately praises the role played by Wilkenson. As a paradoxical character struggling with clarity and confusion he represents a powerful example of the sorts of figures Clooney's son describes in the REALM book. The problem is this: no one else, including Clooney does. The real strength of this story lay inside Wilkenson's imagination of a superimposed reality within which an authentic life is possible. It's pretty clear that he has found the truth of madness, but we are not shown much of it it through him. And, as I say no one else. I believe that the horses were the sign that bridged the two worlds -- the Realm and the reality. But all we have of the two worlds, as far as I can see, are a mad lawyer and three horses on top of a hill. The directors should have read the REALM book themselves, or at least written it. If they had, they would have made a great movie, instead of a bland one. Certainly no one can fault the actors.