Nasty, brutish and not short enough, this is a muddled, unpleasant film that falls half-way between not very entertaining horror and not-as-smart-as-it-thinks-it-is arthouse.
Comment
03/07/09
Surveillance (2009)
55
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:69
Fresh:38
Rotten:31
Average Rating:5.2/10
Consensus: This dark psycho-thriller from Jennifer Lynch, is violent, sharp and baffling, but not to everyone's taste.
Theatrical Release:06-03-2009
Synopsis: It's been a hell of a day on the highway. When Federal Officers Elizabeth Anderson (Julia Ormond) and Sam Hallaway (Bill Pullman) arrive at Captain Billing's office, they have three sets of... [More]
Starring: Julia Ormond, Bill Pullman, Pell James, Ryan Simpkins
Director: Jennifer Lynch
Reviews for Surveillance
Top CriticAlthough her tale involves wild-at-heart lovers racing down a lost highway, Lynch has created a whole different shade of black from anything made by her father.
03/07/09
None of the adult characters have any redeeming qualities, yet the filmmakers have managed to create something watchable despite delving into the blackest corners of human nature.
03/07/09
Surveillance may brim with violence and unease, but it's a puzzle box film you'll have grim fun solving.
03/07/09
Lurching between crude comedy and self-conscious excess, Surveillance is just weird enough to keep your attention.
03/07/09
Things aren’t what they seem, however – something Lynch tries to hide by steeping her tale in wacky humour and over-ripe acting.
03/07/09
Twisted with black comedy, off-kilter performances, unsettling sound design and jolts of violence, Jennifer Lynch’s eminently Lynchian psycho-thriller is far better than its fairly predictable final rug-pull.
03/06/09
Trashy material, arty approach, Lynch’s comeback is harsh, puzzling and mostly weird-bad.
03/06/09
Top CriticWhile the narrative is hardly original – it meanders to a predictable but juicily malicious climactic twist – ‘Surveillance’ is never less than a compelling watch.
03/06/09
Top CriticStructurally, it’s a bit of a muddle but Lynch creates a nicely ominous atmosphere with a sound design that looms up on you like a menacing shadow in a dark alleyway.
03/06/09
Top CriticA violent B-movie bamboozler that, while fun for a spell, is finally unconvincing.
03/06/09
Top CriticThis crime-spree-procedural-with-a-twist isn’t evidence of a shockingly overlooked talent, but it’s watchable, in a gloating sort of way – although Lynch lacks any fraction of her father’s genius, she’s pretty good with her cast.
03/06/09
Top CriticA violent, refreshingly odd mystery.
03/06/09
Sorry to say it, but you can't help wishing Lynch - daughter of esteemed director David - had extended her 16-year wilderness period, because Surveillance simply sucks.
03/06/09
Director Jennifer Lynch has clearly inherited her father David’s ability to shock.
03/06/09
The scenes are shot in a clever range of styles, the dialogue is as sharp as a Stanley knife. The atmosphere in the cop shop, where the film closes in for the teased-out development before the recapitulation and surprise coda, is irresistibly seedy.
03/06/09
It's a fiendish little thriller, and undeniably sick, but you won't forget it in a hurry.
03/06/09
It’s a bleak piece of Americana with a twisted smile on its face. Sick, if you like, but there’s a real film-maker here and I’ve never seen Ormond and Pullman so effectively not be their usual screen selves.
03/06/09
An enjoyably dark thriller with weird characters and an intriguing central mystery, though the resolution might not be to everyone's taste.
03/06/09
Jen’s tale is nowhere near as complex or subtle as the psycho-trickery regularly peddled by her old man. Still, even if the destination’s a disappointment, the journey makes up for it.
03/06/09
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