Five strangers each react in different ways to witnessing a random killing spree in a diner: a young girl (Dakota Fanning) gets religion; a cancer-stricken driving instructor (Forest Whitaker) goes on a gambling spree; a waitress (Kate Beckinsale) seeks human intimacy – first with the doctor (Guy Pearce) who unknowingly opened the diner door to allow the killer entry, and then from anyone who's interested; the aforementioned doctor starts administering small doses of migraine-inducing medication to his wife so that he can then cure her; a young boy (Josh Hutcherson) becomes withdrawn and refuses to speak.
The study of the fallout from the kind of random act of violence that totally negates every perception and viewpoint you had of the world and your place within it can hardly fail to be absorbing, but the very nature of its subject means it can't avoid becoming something of a depress-fest. There's no deep inhalation of sweet air followed by a 'seize the day' embrace of life here. Without exception, each character embarks on a potentially self-destructive path that becomes almost overwhelming after a while.
On the plus side, the film declines to delve too deeply into exactly why the people react the way they do (apart from the young girl who comes over all religious and her mostly mute companion), leaving it to the audience to decipher the clues provided by the characters' behaviour. It's not exactly a difficult job to understand their emotions, but in an age in which many filmmakers feel obliged to cater to the lowest common denominator it's refreshing not to have every aspect of a story spoon-fed to you.
The study of the fallout from the kind of random act of violence that totally negates every perception and viewpoint you had of the world and your place within it can hardly fail to be absorbing, but the very nature of its subject means it can't avoid becoming something of a depress-fest. There's no deep inhalation of sweet air followed by a 'seize the day' embrace of life here. Without exception, each character embarks on a potentially self-destructive path that becomes almost overwhelming after a while.
On the plus side, the film declines to delve too deeply into exactly why the people react the way they do (apart from the young girl who comes over all religious and her mostly mute companion), leaving it to the audience to decipher the clues provided by the characters' behaviour. It's not exactly a difficult job to understand their emotions, but in an age in which many filmmakers feel obliged to cater to the lowest common denominator it's refreshing not to have every aspect of a story spoon-fed to you.