Wicker Park [DVD]

I'm unsure why this film has taken a beating on here - I watched this last night, not knowing at that time it was a remake of a French film and in that context, Wicker Park as a stand alone film (which in my opinion is how it should be judged as lets face it what film is totally original these days) is really rather jolly good, the most gripped I've been to a movie for some time.

I was a little weary to begin with, I don't do chick flicks, Josh Hartnett was good in Lucky Number Slevin so I was willing to give this a go and my recommendation to anyone in a similar wavering opinion like mine - just watch it. A Man (Hartnett) doesn't go on a business trip to China because he thinks he sees his ex girlfriend, whom he hasn't seen for two years, in a restuarant... that's just the beginning...

Some might get confused during the middle, but if you stick at it and pay attention, everything is more than clearly explained and by the final 20/30 mins you really are hooked and want to know what is going happen, I was preying for a satisfactory conclusion and thanfully there is one.

It really is the best film I've seen in a while, certainly the past couple of months and I've seen a few. I cannot say I would compare this film to Vanilla Sky as some here have done - I liked both, but this film is nothing at all like Vanilla Sky. End of really.

This isn't five out of five as the star rating would suggest, but until amazon sort out half stars, I'd give it that as it was better than 4/5.

I will watch the French version of this and see why this has taken a beating, but personally I think they did a great job with this film.

Overall 4.5 out of 5

Despite it's high profile cast (including Josh Hartnett and Matt Lillard) this movie `Wicker Park' feels like an independent movie with its rather quirky yet intelligent storyline, clever use of flashbacks and off-the-wall cinematography.
Perhaps much of that is related to its source material (a French movie). But whatever the reason - I felt myself drawn into this world as a man (Hartnett) throws his career and impending wedding to the wind in an obsessive search for a woman who walked out on him two years earlier.
For anyone who has loved and lost, this movie will strike a chord with you, certainly the girls who watched this movie with me loved it and were left sitting on the edge of their seats as it drew to a close. The acting is simply superb and even Hartnett (who has less than impressed me previously) turns in a convincing performance as a man who seems to awaken out of a trance following a fateful walk to the house telephone at a restaurant.
The movie opens with Hartnett engaged to Rebecca and meeting with his future brother-in-law at a restaurant to conclude details on a merger between his company and a Chinese company. But, as he waits for the house phone to become available he overhears the voice of his former lover who disappeared two years previously and the race is on to find her.
With much of the movie told in flashbacks we learn the details of what happened in the past and are kept two steps ahead of the Hartnett character, who finds another woman in the girls apartment, a friend who is lying to him about an affair with a woman and all manner of machinations that leads him to question his own senses and judgement.
With a very satisfying explanation and some wonderful performances this movie surprisingly delivers. I usually am not a person drawn to independent-type movies but this one is a hit with me.
This DVD is a little short on extras. There are some deleted scenes that offer nothing new, a rather lame and uninteresting audio commentary and a selection of trailers. Perhaps the best special feature (and certainly the only one I enjoyed) is a gag reel, but its all too short.
An interesting, thoughtful romantic drama of a movie, this one is worth a look.

It's a lot easier to understand than Mulholland Drive but rather harder than The Notebook, and almost as good.

For me the star of this film is Diane Kruger, she is just stunning in looks, acting and you really feel for her in this. Josh makes a lifelike appearance to as the main character and is quite believable as he ties the story together. Quite why the two didn't try harder to find each other when they parted 2 years ago I do not know, but that is the only oddity in a superb film that is worth watching again and again as you piece together the time segments by matching clothes, actions, places and situations.