Review of Surveillance (2008) by Chriss M — 20 Jan 2010

The first act of Surveillance had me convinced that Jennifer Lynch was going to spew out a mosaic of her famous father's bag of tricks and as long as I had a giggle or few like her father rarely fails to supply I was going to be okay with that.

There was enough goofy randomness and curious unexplained pauses worthy of anything David Lynch did in the past 20 years but then Jennifer Lynch had to go and explain the whole goddamned thing with a twist I saw coming a mile off less than halfway through the movie.

Bill Pullman is great throughout (especially at the end) and his chemistry with the normally boring (but not boring here) Julia Ormond was actually great. Surveillance turned my normal wariness of cops into full on disdain after the disturbing turn the movie makes but overall I felt like I was getting a piss poor consolation prize until David Lynch decides to make another movie.

The half-assed Rashamon plot device works to a point but I was just waiting for the goddamned thing to end once I figured out the twist. And I rarely figure out the twist...