I Want You (1998)

Sadly Over-hyped

Just perfect...

I'll tell you why so serious

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

After this movie was over I found myself asking what it was all about. Too many unanswered questions. Too many false leads and ultimately an unsatisfying experience.Everything looked good, all the actors were great, the scenes looked real.What was the deal with the blonde? Why did she keep bringing so many guys back to her home? Why did the story set up Rachel Weiss as being such a prude with her dj boyfriend and then later show her as so much not like that in other settings? What was the deal with Rachel Weiss's character in the end? The whole thing just left me feeling perplexed and angry that I wasted 2 hours of my life on it.Given all these negatives, I gave it a "high" rating of 5 because it did look good and all the actors performed well. Had I just rated the story, I probably would have given it a 2.

"I Want You" is a klunker flick out of the UK disguised as dark drama which focuses on a hairdresser (Weiz) who is stalked by an excon (Nivola). Shot as a character study, which, given its shallow plot, means a whole lot of tedious camera voyeurism pouring over a core cast of four for which we're given little reason to care. Capped with an ambiguous ending and flawed with plot-holes, the flick is very forgettable, unsatisfying, and low in entertainment value. Recommended for terminally bored mature audiences only.

This movie, first of all, is not for amateur moviefans. The only people who will probably enjoy this movie are the ones who have seen a great many and wide range of films. It is for the open minded and analytical. Why? Because, this movie is virtually left blank for the audience to fill in. The acting is superb, Rachel Weisz and Alessandro Nivola are very talented, and are justly fit for the role. About 70% of the dialogue was improvised, so that should tell you something. Although there are sometimes too many holes in the plot and not enough information given, the movie, i believe, is pulled off wonderfully. It is a very open movie, and there are no reassurances. The audience will probably find themselves playing psychologist to the deep, rich characters that develop as the short movie progresses. The characters and the whole openness of the movie is what appealed to me. I Want You is very underrated, and people should give this movie a second try. Yeah, there is some explicit sex and voyeurism going on, but that is one of the movie's great central themes. The focus is very apparent from the beginning, and the beautiful thing that sets it off is mood. The color tones used, in mellow bluish and yellowish color, the melancholy and often creepy music... and the locale add to it. The movie is almost like The Virgin Suicides in mood, except much, much darker, with a darker, creepier story as well. It seems throughout the entire movie that the characters are sort of lost in this sort of moody limbo that Michael Winterbottom creates... and you get lost as well.

The story, cinematography, music score, acting is excellent. Also, listen attentively for the last replic to be heard as the end credits begin to roll: it is NOT simply a re-playing of one of the familiar recordings the mute boy made, but includes a significant re-edit, which he has apparently made, which drives home the whole point of the movie very forcefully.