I really enjoyed this *mild spoilers*

I really enjoyed this movie. The acting was good, the dialogue was really well-written, and the actors had good chemistry with each other. It's kind of a situational type story where the scenes are self-contained and you don't really need to know the backstories of the characters to enjoy them. I'm not really well-versed in cinema studies but it seems to hark back to an earlier style of film-making, like from the 1950s-1960s, which relied on dialogue to tell the story. It also had a noir-ish feel about it. The pacing was a bit slow but I thought the chemistry between the characters and the sharp dialogue made up for it. I especially enjoyed the musings on human nature and existence by the characters, it was pointless but enjoyable. The entire film feels like a dream, with a slightly surrealist quality, sorta doesn't make much sense overall but it makes sense while you're watching it. I thought the shots were well-composed and well lit. Some of the scenes reminded me of Mulholland Drive. The street scenes were probably a bit unnecessary, and the black-outs between scenes slowed down the pacing a little but overall I thought it was a good film.

The only I quibble I had with it was the sense of dissatisfaction at the end when the cop tore up the photo. I took that to mean "no". I was hoping that she and Henry would get together, they seemed to have great chemistry and Aaron Tveit is PHWOAH. He kind of blew me away as the sensitive crim, and some of that stuff with his dad was really ripe for psychoanalysis. I initially watched this film because Zachary Quinto was in it but I didn't think he really stood out. The robbery scene was funny though, kind of like an inversion of "Hostage: A Love Story" - I wonder if that was a nod to the short film staring Zachary Quinto. I kind of laughed out loud when I saw that.

The only scene I didn't like was the cabaret dance sequence - that seemed really pointless and a waste of time, didn't add anything to the story. I'd much rather hear the characters talk because this is the kind of movie where the dialogue makes the story.

I think this movie has layers of meaning in it and no doubt references other movies and/or LA itself, stuff that you have to be a native to get. It will definitely get more interesting upon repeat viewings.

I give this movie 9 out of 10.