When I saw the trailer in theaters, my legs felt all funny and my breath got heavy, I looked all crazy - too close to the material. It's not exactly like the movie, but I've done a lot of this. I never knew how far down the line some of my sexual habits were.
Watching this last night, the right of my neck had that pulsing sensation the whole time. Can't give an unbiased review here, due to my personal life lol - but I loved this. It's what I go to the movies for, had no idea where it was going. I was uncomfortable and thrilled. Reminded me of the best of Adrian Lyne, one of my favorite directors. Sticking with the movies merit and not sexual obsession and lust: The colors, the visuals, the use of music, the 80's song used perfectly, the sex montages and the acting from everyone was mostly excellent. Kidman is exciting, doing acting like this. The tension. The opening scene is perfect.
What didn't work, some of the lines weren't as sexy, or as sharp as I would have wanted. Some of the fights weren't as cruel, or when they were, felt a little forced. Some moments near the end got a little preachy or girllboss for my taste, it didn't end as messy or as unresolved as the best of Lyne's stuff. There's a fight at the end that ended all the tension, but I was edge of my seat up until Banderas started that kind of forced bit on the floor. The kid was a little slow, a little retarded, but his acting was still good. Some subplots don't really work. But, as something that works on a visceral, visual level, this was excellent. Made me think about some things in my life in a different way.