When this film debuted in the United States it didn't make many waves. It's a real pity because this is one of the best films that I have seen in years. The movie stars Ben Affleck as a young hotshot lawyer Gavin Banek and Samuel L. Jackson as Doyle. They are each racing to the courthouse for important reasons of their own, when they have a car accident. Paul leaves the scene and leaves an important file at the accident. This chance occurance sets a chain of events in motion that don't stop escalating until people have been jailed, murder is attempted and people have been injured.
Every thing that happens in the film could really happen. No one makes a move that isn't believable, so when events are taken to another level, it's more heart-wrenching. These men are both reasonably good men, with productive busy lives. When they escalate their conflict we inwardly groan and hope that somehow, anyhow, things will improve.
This movie makes it characters real people. Both men have problems in their lives. Doyle is trying to stop his wife taking their children to Oregon, and Gavin is trying to prove a court case that would bring millions of dollars to his law firm. These are both good men, who have been led astray by greed or alcohol.
The growing suspense, and the absolute knowledge that I didn't know what was going to happen next made this a truly extraordinary movie going experience. The acting is uniformly excellent and the characters are very well written. I highly recommend this film.
On the Stella Starstruck scale of movies I give it ***** stars. Do not miss this film!
