This movie was a big disappointment, and a waste of time. I was pulled into the plot at the beginning because it was fast paced, and suspenseful, but as the movie progressed, I was really starting to get bored. After the ending (Which was really strange and very unsatisfactory), I was kind of mad, at having wasted a perfectly good weekend with my friends watching this. I suggest you definitely rent this one before even thinking of buying it.

Other reviewers have noted the brevity of several great actors' scenes, but Mr. Del Toro's scene at the jail was at least twice as long as it should have been.There was some fairly good work here by some excellent actors--which was outweighed by ridiculous camerawork and editing. The attempts at surrealism were more often tedious and annoying. There were just too many such "Oliver Stone Moments", which gave me the impression that the main focus of the directing was on gimmickry--rather than on story-telling.Speaking of the story, that was a bit weak, too. Why did the film end the way it did? I could see no logic or cause/effect relationship between the events in the final scenes.What motivated the detective to run to the child's mother? Either he thought there was danger, or he didn't.Wierd, and disturbing? Yes. Thought-provoking? Yes.It provoked the thought, "Why have I wasted my time and money?"

This film caused quite a debate with my 20 year old son who found it "pointless". I recalled that the writer Durenmatt was an existentialist. This explained the story. Nicholson's character, after years of acclaim, is slinking away into retirement. But he makes this last promise, uses his skills developed over many years, and is convinced to the point of obsession that he is right. Everything is set for his ultimate triumph in front of his peers, the woman he loves, and the family he made the promise to.But a chance accident not only kills the murderer but incinerates the car, not even allowing the cops to recognize the "black wagon" that Nicholson had talked about. Thus due to a chance accident his life is destroyed and he sinks into madness and alcoholism. It was the perfect ending from an existential point of view. I agree with most of the other reviewers on the performances and direction. Sean Penn is slowly becoming one of our best.

I read this to my 7 year old and she was having trouble following the story. Just very choppy and a strange story. She didn't even want me to finish it. Not very well written at all.

This was disturbing to my very bright daughter when she was 6-7. She asked me to get rid of it, which she never asks me to do. Auntie Claus is very strange and more than a little creepy. The pictures are gorgeous, but the story just didn't make a lot of sense. Another writer said that better, but then we dumped the book several years ago. However, the author is great and my daughter is now 10 and she adores this author's Secret Order of the Gumm Street Girls.

This story should have been a novel. The characters are not well developed. Sophie's new compassion for her brother is not grounded in anything that came before, and is not believable. Auntie Claus's role at the North Pole is never explained -- what does she do there?If she is Sophie's aunt, why don't Sophie's parents know what she does? Etc.etc.If Primavera had written a full length novel she would have had room to answer these questions, develop the characters more fully, and give her plot firmer foundations.This is a frustrating book because she had a good idea, but developed it so poorly.