Watch Persons Unknown For Free

That was an excellent one.

Thanks for the memories!

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Right after the male protagonist went to those two sister girls, this movie went straight downhill and that's just about half way through the film. There are some really bad editings in this film. TOO BAD that they are so obvious to the point you'll know that those scenes or actions happened probably right after the director called "Action!" Some of the scenes where one actor doesn't have lines but needs to be in the shot are so raw. These scenes look like a rehearsal rather than a professional shot. I guess either the director didn't spend time with the actors in rehearsal or he doesn't care about rehearsals. The cinematography in this film is bad too, lack of interesting angles, depth of field, no contrast or hightlight...and so you can't feel the tension in certain scenes where they are supposed to hold your breath. The climax is a JOKE. I had to laugh so hard when I saw this is really how the film ended. It's a direction lack of wit or hard work basically speaking... too much negative stuff about this movie and it'll keep me talking for the rest of the day. Well, when a movie went so badly wrong, we would always have to assume the director doesn't do a good job first, bad directing on set, communication, prep work..... It's a low budget movie I understand but low budget doesn't mean the quality of the production has to be rubbish.

I first saw this on cable many years ago as it seemed to be replayed endlessly on HBO, Cinemax and Showtime, almost always late at night. Was quite pleasantly surprised upon the first viewing, and have seen it numerous times since.First a caveat: the villains are a bit too much like caricatures at times. (JT Walsh, always fine, is the exception.) However, though this is the weak part of the film these scenes are watchable, do not halt the momentum and there are some fine moments (like the shooting on the highway near the end).What really stood out for me though were the scenes between Mantegna and Watts. For anyone who has any familiarity with fate taking a dump on you and irrevocably changing your life for the worse, these 2 characters with their heartbreaking and compelling backstories will really move and involve you.The writing and directing is top notch in these scenes, and the performances are outstanding. (I've never seen Watts as good even in her more highly praised roles; BTW, I've also never seen her as beautiful and attractive, too). The way the backstories are presented are very realistic, no overdramatics here -- and I really like the fact that there were no flashbacks nor too many details given, only what the characters felt necessary or able to divulge.This is especially true for Naomi Watts' wheelchair-bound character. We can see how jaded she is from her suffering, but she never explicitly mentions the incident that caused her to be wheelchair-bound, which is how it would be in real life.I do not say this lightly: these scenes are some of the most poignant, absorbing and moving scenes between two romantic yet damaged characters that I've seen, at least in recent memory.Also excellent on this film were Kelly Lynch (never seen her better and rarely have I seen a heroin addict better portrayed), the soundtrack which I found haunting and evocative, and the crisp and beautiful camera-work.Unfortunately, the DVD version of this film does not have the best video transfer and is slightly grainy and subdued, so the cinematography can't be fully appreciated; the image transfer was significantly better when it was aired on cable, although I haven't seen it on cable in at least five years. Still very worth seeing and perhaps buying.Although there are better made movies out there as well as in my collection, this is one of the very few movies that -- if not the only one -- I find myself watching at least once every half year or so. I just wish they would air on cable again soon so I could see that better image transfer and record it on DVR.

Around 1997 while flicking through cable channels I caught the pier scene in this movie and was instantly hooked. The blonde actress in the wheel chair had an incredible presence even just in profile. I did not know who the actress was but immediately wanted to. I checked and she was Naomi Watts (Jet Girl from "Tank Girl" ?). From that moment I was certain that she was destined to become a star. And it sure looked that way in 1997 as a rising young ingenue.But then for three years her career lost all momentum and sank into a series of minor roles in forgettable movies punctuated by huge gaps of unemployment before David Lynch pitched her that fast ball over the middle she had been waiting for (at precisely the moment she was set to give up and become a yoga instructor) in "Mulholland Drive" that she hit out of the ballpark.This is a good, solid, noir film of three people who have screwed up their lives with carelessness and substance abuse desperately seeking another chance. I would like it on DVD. It holds up well with levels revealed with each viewing (the subtleties of the scene where Joe Mantegna first buys the sisters lunch...).

Although "Persons Unknown" is no classic, I must admit I just loved it. It's been a while since I was really emotionaly involved with a movie (not since my viewing 10 months ago of Alfred cheung's "On The Run"). The bad guys are a little to caricatural to my taste but the drama surounding the Joe Montagna character really moved me (what can I say, I am a sucker for "characters with a past"). The score, acting and photography are also flawless.