Compulsion (2013)

Very well executed

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

Honestly when you have to watch 128 minutes of heather graham parading her pushed up and out breasts, without her getting naked is a total waste of film space...if she had sexual relations with other than food it could have fooled me...her execution of the parrot was morbid and unnecessary...if i had a woman at home that looked like her, she wouldn't have time to cook or daydream, let alone watch old films...the chef that actually prepared the meals did a decent job but plating food is far more over rated than it should be...

Amy and Saffron live near one another. If the blinds are open, they can see into each other's apartments. As the picture starts, Detective Reynolds is looking into Saffron's disappearance.Through flashbacks, Reynolds learns that Amy and Saffron knew each other somewhat well. Amy is an aspiring TV cook, while Saffron is an actress and a commentator for women's magazines. The rise and fall of the romance between Amy and Fred is detailed. After that fails, Amy tries to get closer to Saffron.As Amy's obsession with getting a cooking show continues to fail, Saffron's acting career keeps gliding downward. After her breakup with Fred is well on its way, Amy continues to try to get closer to Saffron, who remains standoffish at first.Amy insists on Saffron's trying her dishes, but Saffron is a bulimic who smokes. More than once she barfs up what Amy has more or less force-fed her. Amy loves Saffron's old movies, as does Amy's mother. Saffron slowly warms to Amy. We have a flash back to Saffron being casting-couch raped as a child star when the director who did it wants her to audition for a new role. So, that opportunity was another dead end.Amy and Saffron get to know each other after that; how well does that turn out? ------Scores-------Cinematography: 10/10 Simply gorgeous.Sound: 10/10Acting: 8/10 The two leads were fine, as were Joe Montegna and Kevin Dillon.Screenplay: 5/10 The content misses the mark in a lot of ways. Amy's cooking obsession is over-abundantly clear, and loses some focus because of that. Saffron's trying to hold onto her place as a young star is rather sad. She does not make the adjustment to mature roles, which is unfortunate since studios show interest in her for middle-aged roles. Intellectually, anyway, it's clear what either of them should do, but they don't do it. This backdrop dulled my interest in the lesbian affair and in the missing persons investigation. The screenplay was by far the worst part of the film. There is too much repetition, and it is too slow going forward.

An enjoyable little film full of the kind of intense and intimate relationships that you normally only find on a stage. Hopefully that will be enough to set the scene as Compulsion is not really a film, its a theater production put on to film.Compulsion is two stories that unravel and then combine to become one as you really only get the second story after being fully immersed in the fervor and passion of Amy (Heather Graham). Heather Graham appears to have added more a little Nigella Lawson (Youtube her) to her depiction of a voluptuous gastronome desperately seeking acknowledgement and love.So too does the other leading character Saffron bring a fine set of hang ups and issues played by Carrie Anne Moss.Both lead actresses set the movie apart from ennui with excellent portrayals of their characters and through their selling of the story. They also looks fantastic (which can't be bad!).If you take the movie for the play that it is, rather than the blockbuster you might be hoping for, then you should get on fine.

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.