Compulsion

Compulsion_360P

This is really two movies which have been hacked apart and sewn back together--like Frankenstein's monster, but with vital parts left out. It could have been a pretty funny black comedy if it had simply played out the character of Amy (Heather Graham). Or it could have been a darkly tragic story of a ruined life with Saffron (Carrie-Anne Moss). Instead, it can't decide what it wants to be, tries to do both, and fails at both. It never strikes any sort of real balance, lurching from low-key comedy to emotionally wrenching child abuse. Near the end, the characters' alliance seems grafted together, rather than natural, relying upon what I can only call a denouement gimmick to close things out. All of the actors do well with their parts. I particularly enjoyed Heather Graham when her character was indulging in her flights of fancy. Carrie-Anne Moss gives everything, but really ought to be in a better movie than this. I know nothing of the Korean original, but surely it was better done than this remake. I give as many as 5 stars because the actors try hard, Heater Graham is a feast for the eyes, and there is some yummy food preparation.

Saw the original (a Korean movie called "301/302") years ago as part of my research in preparation for working with patients with eating disorders at a psych unit. Didn't know that "Compulsion" was a remake of it until I started watching it. I was actually looking to watch the British movie of the same title (starring Ray Winstone and Parminder Nagra), but came across this one, and I'm glad I did. It has since become one of my favourite movies. A unique and original story of two people with different obsessions around food (one loves it to death, the other hates it to death - literally). But a thriller? Seriously? No way. It's pure drama. Wonderful, explorable characters and top-notch acting. Loved Heather Graham in this - so vivid and charismatic. Moss was great, too. All in all, a great flick for drama-lovers, particularly those interested in mental disorders (Amy = OCD; Saffron = OCD and bulimia). Just don't expect much "action" - there are no "thrills" in this thriller. Like I said, - it's pure drama.

OK, enough is enough, I decided to watch this movie, even with its low rating, because someone said it was still worth the rental, I mean come on! the movie has a rating below avg, and if I gave it a shot was because of HG, but it's a total fail, the movie its based on a lame obsession and stupid drama, we stay there for an hour waiting for something to happened and we get nothing, nothing at all, just more lame drama and don't get me wrong the acting and everything except the story its fine, very disappointing. Just watch something else guys. Oh! and this isn't even a "R" movie, its more like "PG-13" yeah! because teenagers are the only ones who might be interested in lame drama.

This is a movie for people who like cinematography and of course Heather Graham. Personally I really enjoy movies with beautiful woman in them. Beauty in the cinema is a combination of the natural beauty of the actress and the vision of that beauty brought forth by the director and director of photography(DP). You just need to watch the opening credits to know that the DP is a brilliant artist. Then to watch the whole movie with all its fabulous colors is a real joy. Heather Graham is well...Heather Graham. If you like her, then this is a wonderful vehicle for her talents. I happen to think she is a great actress as well as a great screen beauty. The plot is quite real. If you want exploding cars and flying people this is not your movie. If you treasure beauty, this is definitely a movie to watch.

Simply horrible. Don't waste your time. The plot never develops enough for the viewer to care. It is always nice to see a blonde in high heels and in a dress with lots of cleavage but after a short time it gets old fast in this movie. There's nothing to Heather Graham's character but annoyance. She annoys everyone around her with talk of food and equally annoys the audience. She does nothing exciting. Carrie-Ann Moss' scene where she is confronted by her rapist from when she was a teen was just stupid, overacted and lacked any compassion whatsoever. What seemed like a potential lesbianic climax fizzled horribly with no clear indication about what really happened after those moments in bed. You are left to guess but even that is pointless as you really don't care anymore at that point.

Compulsion? Yes Amy is obsessed with cooking and food R Rating? Not even the slightest. It has some terrible oral sex scenes (no nudity) and a rape scene (again no nudity and goes for about 4 seconds as its a flashback) Unrealistic? Very. The character Amy is delusional and wears although stunning dresses, she wears these everyday while cooking and staying at home all day with her hair and make up. Looking like a 50s housewife but in a modern unrealistically empty and plain apartment. The ending? I'll be honest. It's confusing and initially I had no idea what happened. I actually rewound it twice to figure it out. SPOILER ALERT- Although the ending is vague. This is what happened. The neighbour Saffron asked Amy to eat her when she asked "Help me do something" and Saffron gave Amy a necklace, so that Amy would always remember Saffron. Amy says she will do anything for Saffron and well, she already ate a bird, so why not a human.Then she feeds the cop the human meat, which was Saffron and when he doesn't finish it, she puts it down the grinder.The biggest key was when she said, "That bird just disappeared like Saffron". Eerie music plays and the cop realises he just ate human and runs off. Overall, don't waste your time. Ending was good but way to slow and boring. Would have made a good 40 minute Tales of Crept episode though.

compulsion is one of the little complicated movies that I have seen. The movie has more drama and less thriller than the other thriller movies. on the other hand Hether Graham was so amazing in her performance. The way she cook food and present it to the table make me craving for food a lot. Also, Carrie Ann Moss performance were acceptable, but she did well in the movie. For conclusion, I think that it will be nice to watch the movie, but for the people who don't like too much drama I won't recommend them to watch it.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this movie. I was exhausted from work and felt like watching a predictable horror movie. This is not at all a thriller or a horror movie. It is actually an interesting buddy film between two damaged women who crave what they can't have--love. One tries to find fulfillment through cooking and baking and serving gourmet meals, compulsively nurturing, and another who is desperate for a nurturer, a bulimic who is unable to eat. It is visually very interesting. Amy (Heather Graham, whom I thought was fantastic)and her TV dreams are reminiscent of Nicole Kidman and TO DIE FOR; the bright colors of her dress against the sterile white fake TV set contrast with dark, dreary tones of her idol and then friend Saffron (Moss). I really enjoyed the lush, gorgeous meals Amy created, at first trying to woo Saffron as a friend and then, sensing Saffron's despondency and loneliness much like her own, attempting to sustain her through food and create some kind of sensuous joy for her. The ending makes this a black comedy, if one needs to label it. The writing is clunky and personally I would have enjoyed seeing a couple more scenes showing development of this friendship but filling in the blanks is fun, too.

I see why it gets bad reviews as this aims to a very limited audience. If you thought this was going to be a fun and wacky chick flick with traditionally sympathetic characters, you were horribly, horribly wrong. Everything but the script is damn near perfect, and the script is not terrible either. Not fantastic, but hand in hand with the good acting, fitting soundtrack and beautiful cinematography; it's a very enjoyable film. IF you're the target audience. If you're looking for something that dares be different from the rest of the lot, this movie is for you! Also, Joe Mantegna plays a detective in this. If you're a Criminal Minds fan you could watch it just to get a kick out of thinking of it as a crossover between this film and CM.