Tangled is an incredibly well written and thought out thriller with a sinister and moving romantic sub plot. Its one of those movies that makes you lose track of time, and is so cleverly devised its like watching two very different movies.
David (Shawn Hatosy) is a university student, obsessed ... Read review
Detective Anders has a case to solve. She's got two missing persons, Alan and Jenny. They ... more
could be hurt, they could be dying. The only person who knows for sure is their best friend David, who is badly beaten and suffering from amnesia.As David's memor...
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Advantages: A great multi layered movie Disadvantages: Some loose ends never addressed and some naff special features
Tangled is an incredibly well written and thought out thriller with a sinister and moving romantic sub plot. Its one of those movies that makes you lose track of time, and is so cleverly devised its like watching two very different movies.
David (Shawn Hatosy) is a university student, obsessed with his work and little else; but when Jennie (Rachael Leigh Cook) comes into his life his work is put on the back burner. She was the girl ... ...of school. The thing about Tangled is that you realise that from the minute Alan appears the two would be love birds are on a first class ticket to hell. Alan arrives all smiles but its evident that he’s a wrong un immediately. And if you bear this some thought its incredibly well devised because there is nothing to highlight this, you just naturally know.
Alan been on screen less than two minutes when he is asking David about ... more
Tangled is an incredibly well written and thought out thriller with a sinister and moving romantic sub plot. Its one of those movies that makes you lose track of time, and is so cleverly devised its like watching two very different movies.
David (Shawn Hatosy) is a university student, obsessed with his work and little else; but when Jennie (Rachael Leigh Cook) comes into his life his work is put on the back burner. She was the girl always late for class, and when they one day start to talk it’s a friendship that’s set to last. The trouble with this boy girl relationship is that of many others David wants more and never has the courage to communicate this; Jennie never knows if he wants more and never lets the viewer know if she wants more from David. Jennie attempts on many occasions to get David to reveal his true feelings but he never comes forward. This whole segment of the movie is like a charming 80’s love story the type more recent movie try to replicate but never can achieve to match up to. During this part of the movie you have completely forgotten the fact that your watching what is described as “A tense twisting psychological thriller”.
Segment two begins with the arrival of David’s old friend Alan (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers). A few years earlier they were at school together and despite David’s attempts to keep Alan on the straight and narrow Alan fouled up and was eventually kicked out of school. The thing about Tangled is that you realise that from the minute Alan appears the two would be love birds are on a first class ticket to hell. Alan arrives all smiles but its evident that he’s a wrong un immediately. And if you bear this some thought its incredibly well devised because there is nothing to highlight this, you just naturally know.
Alan been on screen less than two minutes when he is asking David about Jennie, he outright asks David if there is some magic between them but David s far too proud a guy to express his feelings. And in doing so he pushes Alan and Jennie together causing the friendship on all three sides to strain.
The movie is told in flashback under the possible pretence of amnesia to a detective played by the lovely Lorraine Bracco (Soprano’s). If it were not for these constant interruptions the way the story is going would be far less obvious.
After a very bumpy final 30 minutes the movie reaches its conclusion, and initially you feel betrayed by the ending; this is short lived when the complexity of what had seemed simple hits you like a fast moving train.
Tangled is one of the best filmed movies I have seen for a long time, there is no fancy camerawork or no clever plot devices but its just so well structured that you never really know where the thing is going despite your occasional suspicions. Call me soft but this is just the sort of movie I love a romantic story with a stinging unrelenting horror/thriller sting in the tale.
Tangled is helped along by a great subtle soundtrack, a haunting musical score that shows the tenderness of the love story with the aggression of a psychopath . Intertwined with this is some classic 60’s tracks, a little R & B; and David Gray’s Sail Away to express a time of great sadness.
If I have one criticism of Tangled its that one or two strands of the story are presented to the viewer but never addressed. The relationship with Jennies father is addressed but never dissected enough for you to realise what happened. Neither is an area of Alan’s passed truly addressed which I cant elaborate on without telling to much of the story away.
This movie has it all romance, humour, drama, and a great thriller twist and were it not for bit of brief nudity and some strong language I’m sure that this could easily be an afternoon movie. This is indeed an entry level thriller for those attempting to make a step into a harder style movie but never had the stomach too.
Special Features
The theatrical trailer gives a very different impression of the movie to the one you actually witness. And perhaps due to this trailer the movie never achieved an audience it should have. I actually saw the trailer around three years ago and on the basis of this trailer I decided not to view it.
Production Notes and Cast Notes offer the usual spiel of text junk that only the very few bother to worry about, its really not worth wasting your time on this and it’s a bit deceiving too if you try to read these before giving the movie a viewing as the romance angle is never once addressed in the initial page of write up. By the time your on page 11 you have to ask why your reading this and why you have not just chucked the DVD on the fire. A lot of attention is paid to Rhys-Meyers who was fresh in Hollywood off the back of the BBC’s Gormenghast. I suspect he was expected to be the new Jude Law but his career never lifted above a very slow jog. In honesty from his first 5 minutes on screen in Tangled its obvious why.
Photo Gallery offers pointless stills from the movie, I’m always a bit confused as to the purpose of this addition to DVD’s. I mean……Why?
Tangled is available from Play.com for just £5.99, and for those of you a little more frugal with your cash its currently screening on Zone Horror or the Horror Channel as it used to be known.
Advantages: Clever, Often Interesting, Good Acting Disadvantages: All Been Done Before, Only Better
...she was a producer for Tangled as well. The best performance of the piece comes from Jonathan Rhys-Meyers who is very creepy as the dangerous Alan. He defiantly puts a menacing edge on, which instantly attracts the audience attention, making them think that he is the kidnapper, but then he switches on the charm, and you as an audience like him again, it’s a good performance, which although not excellent makes the character a lot better than the script ... ...forced.
The script for Tangled is very problematic. It is yes very clever and tosses in twists and turns in every corner, but there are huge lapses in time and logic. These bad aspects, don’t stop it from being a very entertaining movie, but when you come away from the film, you realise, that it’s all a bit, naff. The dialogue is good, and the relationship developments between David and Jenny are good, but when it comes to the action, they just ...
JayHall1991 04.01.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Tangled (DVD)
Advantages: A stylish and original thriller. Oh, and it has Rachael Leigh Cook in it! Disadvantages: None that spring to mind...
...we go deeper into the tangled plot.
Rachael Leigh Cook is quickly becoming one of my favourite actresses. She gives a powerful performance in this film and, as always, she is drop dead gorgeous! On the other hand, the two male leads, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and Shawn Hatosy, don’t exactly set the screen on fire but a special mention must go to Jonathan for quite a demanding performance, which does tend to go a bit over the top at times.
Overall, I ... ...entire running time. The ‘surprise’ ending is definitely well played out, even if you already guess it beforehand, and it’s a great pay-off after watching all the events unfold. If you haven’t seen it before, then you should definitely check it out (especially if you’re a fan of Rachael Leigh Cook!). ...
sjhawkuk 12.08.2003
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Tangled (DVD)
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