44 reviews
Worth the patience.
It started slow, but by the end, I was very glad I had hung in there.
- kiko-49980
- Sep 8, 2019
- Permalink
An honest review
Out of the twelve current reviews, the ten 10/10's are all fake, and the two 1 & 2/10 are wannabe critics that have no clue how to rate a film.
I found this film flawed, yet interesting and entertaining, and better than I expected.
The acting by all cast was on point, especially J.L. Curtis. The sound/score was decent. The directing and cinematography were well done by writer/director Joe Chappelle. But his writing is were the flaws showed. The too-long 102 min length, and extremely slow pacing made this film seem over 2 hours long. Many scenes were dragged out and unnecessary imo. Joe Chappelle's resume is mainly TV's shows, so going into a full length feature film clearly was a challenge for him. Had this films pace been sped up, and the screenplay edited/cut down to 60 (TV show length) - 80 min, it would have held the audiences attention better with constant uninterrupted suspense..
The premise of this political drama/(hardly a) thriller was actually very interesting, and the flashback scenes were done well, but most of the 'entertainment value' was the last 15-20 mins. The beginning was the slowest, focusing too much on unnecessary long or irrelevant scenes.
Still, an enjoyable film on dirty underground politics. Would I recommend it? Only if you are into political films and/or have nothing better to watch. It's an honest 7/10 from me.
I found this film flawed, yet interesting and entertaining, and better than I expected.
The acting by all cast was on point, especially J.L. Curtis. The sound/score was decent. The directing and cinematography were well done by writer/director Joe Chappelle. But his writing is were the flaws showed. The too-long 102 min length, and extremely slow pacing made this film seem over 2 hours long. Many scenes were dragged out and unnecessary imo. Joe Chappelle's resume is mainly TV's shows, so going into a full length feature film clearly was a challenge for him. Had this films pace been sped up, and the screenplay edited/cut down to 60 (TV show length) - 80 min, it would have held the audiences attention better with constant uninterrupted suspense..
The premise of this political drama/(hardly a) thriller was actually very interesting, and the flashback scenes were done well, but most of the 'entertainment value' was the last 15-20 mins. The beginning was the slowest, focusing too much on unnecessary long or irrelevant scenes.
Still, an enjoyable film on dirty underground politics. Would I recommend it? Only if you are into political films and/or have nothing better to watch. It's an honest 7/10 from me.
- Top_Dawg_Critic
- Mar 16, 2019
- Permalink
Gets better as it goes along...
Honestly, the film starts out a bit confusing...Libby was a top aide to the VP and 4 years later is accepting a teaching position at a university, where we see that she is a controversial person hated by many, but we don't know why. It takes a while for the film to unravel the details in flashbacks so instead of it feeling like a mystery the viewer feels a bit lost and frustrated like we are missing out on some important info... but just hang in there. While the audience is trying to figure out what the heck Libby did that's made everyone so angry another mystery is introduced...one of the students begins stalking her.
This film is definitely flawed in its presentation and I wouldn't call it a thriller, but it gets better as it goes along. I felt that the writing and pace of the movie, as well as some of the acting, were the main problems. It's a slow burn, and it had that low budget feel but the second half of this political drama/mystery pulls it all together and in the end, it was an enjoyable enough watch In My Humble Opinion! 6.5 stars
- LiveLoveLead
- Dec 22, 2019
- Permalink
A SLOW-BURN THRILLER - VERY SLOW, THAT'S THE ISSUE
Ok, with all the story / reliability content, this good drama or a political thriller (if you can call it like that) is indeed very slow. The actual movie starts & ends in the last 20-25 minutes or so. Initally, too much of dragging. Problem als there with the star cast. Apart from Jamie Lee Cutis, not many known faces.
The lead, Tika Sumpter (Libby) is wholly wooden in her expressions. But for her well-chiseled physique, she fails to emote. Story is very topical and of course, the twist in the tail is worth-watching, if you have patience to sit thru' the boring 2/3rd of the movie.
The lead, Tika Sumpter (Libby) is wholly wooden in her expressions. But for her well-chiseled physique, she fails to emote. Story is very topical and of course, the twist in the tail is worth-watching, if you have patience to sit thru' the boring 2/3rd of the movie.
- rsridhar2005
- Jul 22, 2019
- Permalink
Absolute thriller
Started slowly but it was worth the wait as the suspense built up. Great film.
- kinghenry-68681
- Jul 24, 2019
- Permalink
50 Mins into
Fifty mins into the movie and still do not know what is going on.
- martencoupons
- Jul 22, 2021
- Permalink
Give it a chance and see it through
I was ready to switch off twenty mins in, but actually it's quite a good film. I think they could have cut it at 1h30 mins. Also the make-up got on my nerves, I mean how do you even make a black woman look washed out. At least put some mascara on her.
- lopezpatricia-06139
- Jul 27, 2019
- Permalink
This one's a hard pass
A very interesting and important topic presented (and tragically cheapened) by mostly mediocre actors and a few terrible ones (e.g. drunk guy at party), a decent director, and a very weak script which is riddled with cartoonish characters and ridiculous elements.
Thriller? More like snooze fest. Tries hard to portray Dick Cheney, Dubya, Condi Rice, etc. but doesn't have the tools to pull it off. One Jamie Lee Curtis does not a good movie make. Go see Vice instead.
- garymathe-76173
- Apr 22, 2019
- Permalink
Solid drama -- riveting tension
Libby (Sumpter) is hiding a dark secret that is eating her alive. From the very first scene in the movie, we know that Rachel (Curtis) has suborned Libby into a Faustian bargain -- selling her soul to the Devil for a few moments pleasing the minions of power. As Lord Acton so eloquently told us, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men...",
Both political parties have been guilty of this kind of abuse of power -- both Bush Jr. and Obama -- betraying their oaths of office. Though it seems to mock Republicans, it could just as easily have been about Democrats.
But this story is more intimate. It crawls under the skin of its protagonist, feeling the somber burden -- wincing at the finger pointing and uncomfortable looks from others.
Both Sumpter and Curtis deliver powerful performances. Sumpter, as Libby, lets us feel the heavy regret for having participated in a lie that killed so many. Curtis, as Vice President Rachel Burke, lets us see the mental gymnastics politicians go through to justify crimes against humanity.
Both political parties have been guilty of this kind of abuse of power -- both Bush Jr. and Obama -- betraying their oaths of office. Though it seems to mock Republicans, it could just as easily have been about Democrats.
But this story is more intimate. It crawls under the skin of its protagonist, feeling the somber burden -- wincing at the finger pointing and uncomfortable looks from others.
Both Sumpter and Curtis deliver powerful performances. Sumpter, as Libby, lets us feel the heavy regret for having participated in a lie that killed so many. Curtis, as Vice President Rachel Burke, lets us see the mental gymnastics politicians go through to justify crimes against humanity.
- RodMartinJr
- Apr 26, 2019
- Permalink
Nice idea, badly cast, no pace
The pace is to slow and the casting poor. There are flashes of Jamie Lee Curtis' acting ability but she is a little unbelievable in her role and is working with a bad script. The lead actor fails to convince as she does not have the screen presence to make it believable that she could have held such a senior security post. However, in these days of Trumpian politics anything is possible. The idea and storyline are good but they deserve a better screenplay, pacier direction and a change of cast. The 10/10 reviews are abviously planted and imdb shouldn't not allow such reviews to be published.
- robertasmith
- Aug 21, 2019
- Permalink
Strong film. Why the low score?
Not sure why such a low score. Well made, good acting, politically driven and undeniably believable in the real world.
I enjoyed this as a Sunday night film, I was interested and enjoyed it. Sure... it didn't blow my mind, I was aghast at what I was witnessing, I wasn't bowled over eyes peeled on the edge of my seat. But it was entertaining and a strong film... certainly wasn't a waste of time or anything so negative. Would def. recommend as a drama, political thriller type. Good cast too.
- dannypetty-73316
- Jul 14, 2019
- Permalink
Passable Pages, Sadly...
An okay film for a rental on iTunes, but the biggest drawback of the film for me, besides the ho-hum story and acting, is the horrible use of a soft filter for lensing that I have no idea why it was shot that way. This type of political film does not need a softer imaging in telling the story. Had they opted for a better DP, at least it would be a bit more watchable and have less of that soapy build up.
Forced
- SteveJ_888
- Sep 13, 2019
- Permalink
Wants to say something important
- mancinibrown
- Sep 22, 2019
- Permalink
Intriguing and timely
An Acceptable Loss is intriguing and suspenseful- with great performances by JL Curtis and Tika Sumpter. Love the plot twist and great character development- with political suspense and surprising turns. This movie was much better than Vice which was plodding and slow. An Acceptable Loss made you think and after the movie generated interesting conversation from my friends - the sign of a good thoughtful drama.
- lindsay-60575
- Apr 29, 2019
- Permalink
Inferior Feature Should have been on Lifetime
This is a really really bad movie.
Starts off with this chick named Libby staring into space. Cut to 4 years later. She's STILL staring into space.
That basically describes this movie. You'll be staring into space from boredom.
Exceedingly poorly written and directed. It's truly made like a Lifetime movie -- it's THAT cheesy.
There's no tension, no drama, no characters to care about. Jamie Lee Curtis seems way out of her element and reminds me of the kinds of flicks Stallone is in now where he just walks thru an delivers his lines. It's HORRIBLE.
Starts off with this chick named Libby staring into space. Cut to 4 years later. She's STILL staring into space.
That basically describes this movie. You'll be staring into space from boredom.
Exceedingly poorly written and directed. It's truly made like a Lifetime movie -- it's THAT cheesy.
There's no tension, no drama, no characters to care about. Jamie Lee Curtis seems way out of her element and reminds me of the kinds of flicks Stallone is in now where he just walks thru an delivers his lines. It's HORRIBLE.
Good thriller with a flaw
We live in a dangerous world and showing kindness in a (terroristic) war can be a deadly flaw, as professor Libby teaches her students.
Warlords in human history either endure by imposing a reign of terror on their subjects and victims - or bow to more overwhelming aggression and end up dead (or in prison). Happy endings are reserved for Disneyland.
The movie almost closes when the wicked genius is revealed. It should have stopped there and I would have cranked up the score to a jubilant 9.
I found the closing scene to be a real bummer and contradictory to the content - ruining the message.
Warlords in human history either endure by imposing a reign of terror on their subjects and victims - or bow to more overwhelming aggression and end up dead (or in prison). Happy endings are reserved for Disneyland.
The movie almost closes when the wicked genius is revealed. It should have stopped there and I would have cranked up the score to a jubilant 9.
I found the closing scene to be a real bummer and contradictory to the content - ruining the message.
- mariekevanderleij
- Mar 13, 2024
- Permalink
What's was the point
I got it , then again maybe I didn't , I soooo didn't see the point of this movie.at the end I was that's it ..I would say people should really pass on this one.
- imthebegottenson
- Jun 7, 2020
- Permalink
Give it a chance
- mushroomheadnc
- Aug 21, 2021
- Permalink
I WAS excited to see this
Don't waste your time. I thought it sounded intreaging. It is total BS! It is so far out there, yet trying to be a serious question about the state of affairs in our current political environment. Might as well be a fairy tale or maybe a sequel to Avatar without any visual appeal... It is serious leberal drivel. Even if you are a leftist it doesn't offer any logical thought or entertainment!
- steve-schmer
- Aug 30, 2020
- Permalink
Good movie, timely topic, lots of twists and turns
I enjoyed this movie - it was good to see Jamie lee Curtis again.
Interesting story about crooked politics.
It was a little slow to gear up but midway through the movie it really got moving.
I wish the ending would have expanded a little bit but at least you knew pretty much what happened,
Definitely one of the better movies I've seen in a while.
- srobertson-75103
- Jan 27, 2020
- Permalink
Boring
Boring and bad acting. Don't waste your time. Jamie Lee Curtis should've received a Razzie nomination.
Not So Thrilling
Scores high in all areas of talent and technical execution, but the plot is simply dull and unrealistic.
- jamesrrobison
- Dec 3, 2019
- Permalink
Enjoyable although implausible
- Aegina1028
- Jan 25, 2020
- Permalink
I guess the producers ran out of money on the last days of filming?