Though the story could be compelling and the script the basis of an engaging film, director James Cox and his editor seem to go out of their way to impede that outcome. Right from the start my reaction was huh? The scenes are shot and directed as though they are disconnected, and elongated so that the audience is so far ahead of the unfolding plot the only recourse the editor seemed to see was throwing in a dissonant scene fragment that made no logical or storyline sense.
The cast consists of mostly talented actors. Not surprisingly, Kevin Spacey plays a sleazy scumbag character as well as he always does (which some would say comes naturally), and a cameo turn by Judd Nelson (who was in the original BILLIONAIRE BOYS CLUB movie) is beautifully understated, but otherwise everyone else is so over the top you feel like you're being slammed around between pieces of the most melodramatic soap opera ever and long stretches of self indulgence from a beginner film student so enamored with his shots and scenes they draw them out to the point of creative paralysis.
Oh, and there seemed to be no attempt to reproduce the styles of the 1980s to add even an element of veracity. So: not recommended.
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