Review of Intacto (2001) by Mike C — 23 Jan 2012

Christopher Nolan smart. I've watched a lot of movies, but probably three of the top five smartest movies I've seen are Nolan flicks (Inception, Momento, Following). Make room for this film. A dynamite premise: luck is a commodity, easily transferred by something as simple as touch. Some people have the gift to take the luck of others. One man has made it his goal to find these people and use them for his own gain.

It's an incredible story: a Jew who survives a concentration camp holds most of the luck. So much so that he will repeatedly take on others via an extreme form of Russian roulette with one chamber in a revolver out of six empty. The guest always shoots first. But Sam also has the ability to take away the gift. He takes away his son's gift, and that is the start of the story. The son tries to find another person with the gift so he can use him/her to get back at his father.

The film takes some hits from critics. Maybe there are some plot holes. I didn't think anything gaping. Ebert asks if the cost of the gift is worth living alone with a bag over your head as Sam does (afraid that even a wrong look could take away his luck). As was the problem in Limitless, it seems greed is the biggest fallback to luck. I'm not so sure that is the case either. In this movie, everyone is willing to die in their gambling.

Regardless, one of the smartest movies I've seen. Just a brilliant, original concept (though I guess The Cooler is based on a similar idea of sorts). To boot, it's solid, subtle acting, and the darkness on the screen matches the dark mood of the film. That may have been unintentional, but if the shoe fits...