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Very well executed

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Robert Forrester (Paddy Considine) is struggling to divorce his vengeful wife Nickie (Caroline Dhavernas), and he starts peeping in on the simple isolated life of Jenny Thierolf (Julia Stiles). Then she catches him one night, but she invites him in. The stalker becomes the stalkee as Jenny breaks up with her fiancé Greg. Greg decides to fight Robert one night. Robert wins and leaves a drunken unconscious Greg by the side of a river. Soon after, Greg is reported missing and Robert is a suspect.It's a good idea of dysfunctional people finding each other. Director Jamie Thraves just doesn't have the skills to elevate the tension and the drama. There is a lack of moody atmosphere that this movie desperately needs. I love all the actors involved especially Paddy. Dhavernas may be miscast as the bitch. That role needs a darker tougher chick. The potential is there, but the execution is lacking.

I was drawn into this film by the uneasy feeling that the central characters were being drawn into a slow-sucking situational quicksand, an experience that for most of us only happens in nightmares.If you prefer snappy pace and predictability in your films, move on. As the other reviews indicate, you either really like this film, or really dislike it for any number of reasons. At times I wanted to grab the "hero" by the shoulders and give him a shake to snap him out of his apparent lassitude. At that point I realized the movie was working for me, I was invested emotionally. Casting stays refreshingly clear of stereotypes with not a "pretty boy" in sight, and direction, performances and technical credits are mostly right on the mark.This picture would have done so much better at the box office if it had let the potential audience know that Patricia Highsmith was the author of Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train." For those of us not familiar with Highsmith's work, the title "The Cry of the Owl" is just too far removed from the essence of this film to be a draw.So when you have the opportunity to see this film, relax, put your feet up and watch the first ten or so minutes. If you fall asleep, or find your mind turning towards undone kitchen tasks, then get back to "Jersey Shore" or whatever else gives your entertainment rush. If this film passes the ten-minute endurance test, you'll find it evolves into 100 minutes of compelling entertainment, destined to linger in the dark crannies of your mind for longer than you might expect.

I particularly appreciated the observation by hansdewolff regarding Mr. Considine's performance: "On the other side I did have some trouble with Paddy Considine as Robert. Sure, he played the dull, neurotic, passive and slightly cowardly character to perfection. Yet something was amiss...in the rest of the movie it's just not enough in sync with the premise of a charming guy who's sought-after by two beautiful women"I felt very much the same as I endured the film's first half...not only in his appearance did he evoke a grim, dull figure, his emotional attitude was also bleak and flat...the spectator should care for, if not totally identify, with him (he is the main character)...in fact the whole first half seemed more bleak and grim and ultimately alienating than it need have been...maybe not only at times having him be more appealing (emotionally and physically) would have been to make him somewhat manic-depressive (certain charming highs as well as alienating lows), in a sense the contrast established between the urban and the rural worlds could be echoed (in a different way of course) by contrasts in his characterization and dress...it certainly would have made first half of the narrative less boring and ultimately the film more engaging...

Yea this was a waste of time. Though Paddy Considine did a fairly good job of bringing some life to the film via some decent acting, the overall pace and unbelievable plot aspects keep the film on a downward spiral ending in a climax more of a whimper than a bang.Of note is the lackadaisical way in which this adaptation took key elements of the novel and pretty much left them in the book. And as mentioned above, the lack of believability in certain scenes ruined the suspension of disbelief of this reviewer. Examples (spoiler free) are of characters acting how no one ever would, police behaving moronically, and the sensation that Paddy's character is so much a whip that he deserves anything he gets.My advice, don't wast any money on this one.