Oh, the irony.

To me, this would have made the perfect short film. The first 15 minutes are brilliant. At the point Bob is declared a "hero," it should have ended. Not that it's a bad movie or anything, it just feels like it drags on too long...

But my perspective completely changed after reading the detailed FAQ on IMDB's page. I didn't realize how "deep" the story went. After analyzing it in my head for awhile, I realize that this is an extremely underrated movie and I shouldn't dismiss it as easily as I just did.

It truly is a sad story. It's the inner workings of the mind of a much put upon man. He figures all of this out in his head in an overly intricate and imaginative way (no wonder he made himself "VP of Creative Thinking") and by the end, decides that he must sacrifice the "weak" in order to save the herd. The tragedy is that no one will realize how brave his decision truly was.

There was no indication to me throughout the movie that Bob had any sort of past, but after reading theories that his wife and child had been killed 5 years ago (as symbolized by the hummingbirds), it immediately puts it all into perspective. The idea of Vanessa being the "fantasy" replacement (Hula girl personified) is brilliant and it escaped me the first two times I watched this. And there was no way I would have ever put together the Coleman/Maconel anagram; so many of the signs just plain escaped me.

I really love movies that get me to think on different layers like this. To think, I would have easily passed it by if it weren't for that FAQ.