Review of The Two Faces of January (2014) by Phil P — 11 Jun 2015

Hossein Amini is an Iranian screenwriter taking his first shot at directing a feature film. He is most famously known for such diverse scripts as 2011's stunner Drive, 1997's The Wings of the Dove (which earned him an Oscar nomination) and crappola such as The Four Feathers and Killshot. The results of his efforts as a director are middling as we get a less exotic and more predictable adaptation of a Patricia Highsmith Euro-thriller. Her particular brand of creeping, screw-tightening dread was rendered expertly by Anthony Minghella in the 1999 hit The Talented Mr. Ripley. But in this film, most of the clever thrills her work is known for are dulled down for straight-up storytelling.

You can almost see the actors yawning through the proceedings as one bad decision after another leads to more death and mayhem. Greece does provide a beautiful backdrop, and Alberto Iglesias scores the film well. But I know Tom Ripley, and you - Mr. Mortensen - are no Tom Ripley.