I've wondering myself what's hell Willem Dafoe accepted be casting of this dull picture, the premise was factually auspicious, when the convict Charlie Rankin (Stephen Dorff) is about to be release receives an encode letter to kill someone under the order of the Buddha (Willem Dafoe) in advance he already receives a large amount of money and the gun for his bold assignment, he has an strange behavior as lone wolf, no friends, no connection to outside world at Cleveland, until meets occasionally a gorgeous girl florence (Michelle Monogham) on a bus, hereinafter she and Charlie spend a night just for sex, in next day he ought kill Chaney (Ken Rossall),he did with extreme difficult but unluckily Chaney has a guest blonde woman at house, this unexpected event he has to struggles with the woman, tied her and left him alive at closet, he believes that she doesn't recognized him, afterwards the movie enters in a merry-go-round limbo, with pointless stuffs, became slow paced and even boring, until Buddha appears and demands a clean job, the final is average and unpredictable as well, but overall is a weak thriller, the main character seemingly is absence, your dialogues are senseless also he is aimless, lacklustre proposal!!

Resume:

First watch: 2020 / How many: 1 / Source: Blu-Ray / Rating: 5

Charlie Rankin (Stephen Dorff),recently released from prison, seeks vengeance for his jail-house mentor William "The Buddha" Pettigrew (Willem Dafoe). Along the way, he meets the ethereal, yet streetwise, Florence Jane. They embark on a unlikely road trip, careening towards an unlikely redemption and uncertain resolution.

Although this film had many good moments (such as the home invasion) and it is possibly Dorff's final acting to date (he has really blossomed in this role) it overall just seems too uneven and did not resonate well with me.

The primary problem I had was with Florence. She was not someone I felt the audience could understand or appreciate. Why did Rankin like her? Their whole relationship is built on nothing. And yes, I understand this is a whimsical road trip without commitment... but she was just the wrong character for such a thing.

And if there was a deeper message, I missed it. All that occurred to me is that Charlie Rankin has the same name as the Nazi in Orson Welles' "The Stranger". I sincerely doubt this was intentional, because trying to draw parallels is far too difficult -- Welles' Rankin is a false identity hiding from his criminal past. Rankin is this film uses the alias Samson and he, too, has a criminal past he cannot overcome. But that is it (and only works in the most vague way).

The novel probably clears things up, but after seeing the film I have little motivation to seek it out.

Yes, I feel like Tom Hanks raising his hand and saying, "I don't get it." Charley (Stephen Dorff) gets out of prison and is going to perform a hit for Willem Dafoe. Nine minutes into the film you are going WTF as you realize Charley has some reality issues. We see Charley performing things he didn't do. Or did he do them in the past? Or is he imagining himself doing things?

Armed with money, a gun, and a powder puff blue bowling ball bag, Charley meets Florance (Michelle Monaghan) on a bus. She takes him home with her, but Charley attempts to keep his head clear, why I don't know as he never seems to be all there. Florance tells us that "we all have layers" perhaps a key to this character story. Her character is supposed to be quirky, but it didn't seemed developed very well.

By the end of the story, I didn't feel I had any real closure for this artsy film. Good Luck. If you liked this film try "Mysteria" another one I had trouble with.

Parental Guide: F-bomb, sex, brief TV nudity?