Desire Avenue

I was reading a 'films you think are overrated' thread on another board recently and this one came up several times, so I took the opportunity to watch it on Film4 the other night to see for myself. Personally I thought it was one of the better 'non-linear' movies I've seen, not in the same league as Mulholland Drive or Memento obviously, but still a thought-provoking and very moving drama. Naomi Watts was brilliant as always, she's such a wonderful actress and some of her scenes with Sean Penn were quite heartrending. Benicio Del Toro was great as the ex-con tormented by his seemingly inexorable destiny.

The ending maybe teetered a bit on the edge of unnecessary melodrama, I think if it had been understated the overall emotional punch of the movie would have been even greater, but all in all I really enjoyed this film and was completely absorbed in it the whole way.

*edited for my inability to tell Nicolas Cage and Sean Penn apart when they've both got long hair*

I really liked the movie, I thought some parts could have been cut or shortened, but nevertheless it was a real emotional punch.