Good Story With Steady Build of Suspense, + Good Characters To Consider

Hey folks,

For various reasons, I have never cared much for either Nicole Kidman or Sean Penn. In fact, I will usually pass on most films which feature either of them. I watched this film in spite of these two actors because the premise seemed appealing to me.

Having said that, I thought the film was really good in spite of my prejudice for these actors. Very quickly after the film started, I stopped watching Kidman and Penn and began watching their Broome and Keller characters. They were no longer Kidman and Penn for me.

The story also captured me right from the beginning. For me, it did not get lost in various complex and convoluted story lines, and it flowed fairly smoothly as suspense also continued to build. While the central theme of the film was genocide in an African country, the depiction of killing was pretty much minimized in favor of allowing the film to tell the story rather than the use of gratuitous visuals to shock the audience. Come to think of it, I don't think there was much, if any, bad language, and there was no use of dumb sex scenes thrown in to take away from the story which simply carried itself.

I may still not be a fan of Penn and Kidman, but I have no problem openly stating I enjoyed their performances as well as the story this film provided.

Best wishes,
Dave Wile