Control (2004)

Wonderful character development!

This is How Movies Should Be Made

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

This film certainly wasn't going to top the charts. Not enough sex, violence, special fx etc for that. Nor does it try to be "amazing" by having a far too intricate storyline. Its simple. There are no drastic twists in the storyline. But perhaps its a little too subtle for the masses. But it does make you think. Lee Ray has had the traumatic/violent childhood and is by all means, a sociopath. Emotionally, he feels nothing. He is described as an "animal" and the doctor considers him the perfect test patient. The trial begins and eventually, he becomes a reformed man. Not only about his present actions (ie not reacting aggressively) but also about his past. Perhaps the problem is that viewers do not understand what a sociopath is and how they differ from your run of the mill murderer. The film does not actually explain it - perhaps trying not to patronise its audience or perhaps just bad writing/directing. Without giving too much away, its basically a film about "nature vs nurture" or in other words......"can a leopard ever change his spots?".

make that 7.5... frustrating that half points aren't allowed!!! CONTROL was on the budget section in my rental store. I didn't expect much! I was very pleasantly surprised.Sure, I have seen better thrillers... ... but I have seen much worse! Ray Liotta gives his best performance to date, IMHO, and Willem Dafoe is also excellent and believable as his character.I am not going to talk much about the film, save to say... WATCH IT... and make your own mind up! Me? I thought the ending was absolutely fine, and fitting for what preceded! I also have my wife's permission to say so... and she is never wrong!!!

I just saw this film in a cinema in Bahrain, I think 2 years after it came out, or rather didn't come out in cinemas, as it went straight to DVD. When I think of all the rubbish that gets into the cinema, that's just insulting.I saw it 'cos of Defoe and Liotta, 2 of the greatest actors in cinema today. Yes, the film had some cheesy moments, but this is still a good film. The acting from Defoe and Liotta is generally excellent, and this is a good story, though it could have done with some better editing. Stephen Rea does a good job as Dafoe's boss, and whilst the ending is a bit predictable, it's a reasonable way to spend 2 hours or so.The alternative is watching something by Adam Sandler or Ben Stiller, none of which goes straight to video, and shows why the movie business is sometimes the craziest business in the world.Watch 2 great actors doing what they do best and enjoy that movies like this still get made. It's really quite good.

Great idea. Great acting. But the script lacks consistency in the 2nd half of the movie. This is a rookie mistake, and they could learn from the TV show 24. Even if you do things that are not believable, you have to follow up with consistency, and the film does not do this. This could have been a great movie, but they turned it into a Psychology 101 nightmare with lame references to control groups and placebos that we all learned in Psyche 101. It is watchable, but it is a disappointment because of what it could have been. I give it a 5 only because the great acting and great original concept. DaFoe is great, as usual, and the top actors all did their best, obviously thinking that this was a marketable, tight film. Maybe they didn't take Psyche 101.