Director Hossein Amini ("Drive"), with his unpredictable script adapted from a Patricia Highsmith novel ("The Talented Mr. Ripley"), went first class all the way. It is 1962; we watch a charming tour guide find clever ways to bilk his customers and leave them smiling. We see an obviously wealthy couple enjoying the sights and streets of Athens.
We saw:
- Viggo Mortensen ("On the Road") Chester has the money and the blonde. He is a heavy drinker, a chain smoker and clearly adores her. He does NOT want to be tracked down by a second-rate skip tracer!
- Kirsten Dunst ("Melancholia") Colette is in love with her husband and with Greece: she has never been here before and everything is exciting! Even the tour guide....
- Oscar Isaac ("Inside Llewyn Davis") Rydal is a combination tour guide and flim-flam man; he is multilingual and is the perfect guy to help a tourist out of a tough spot. In my opinion, Isaac has never been more appealing.
This story takes a number of unexpected twists and turns, each one more desperate and more involving; it IS Patricia Highsmith after all! However, the denouement is muttered by a dying man and I desperately needed closed captions. As we discussed this film outside the theater afterwards, three of us had three different interpretations, so.. YOYO! (You're On Your Own!)
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This is a good sample:
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2448730905/
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This is a good sample:
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2448730905/
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