Focus – not to be confused with Auto Focus, a film which has recently made its way onto my video store shelf. Focus – William H. Macy in fine form. Focus – Laura Dern doing a fantastic job as per usual (why she never really ‘made it’ is a mystery. She was great in Jurassic Park and A Perfect World, and going back even further in that naughty little film known as Rambling Rose).
By the time we got to the second half of the film, however, I was kinda bored. This didn’t really deal with anything I hadn’t seen before, and not being very familiar with the particular era in which it was set, I guess I wasn’t as concerned as I could have been.
The supporting characters were well played, particularly Meat Loaf, who is rapidly turning out to be one hell of a fantastic actor – who could forget his hormonally imbalanced turn in Fight Club?
Above all this film examines the nature of identity – how people perceive the differences between each other. Apparently ‘Arthur Miller’s most controversial work’, this film has a fantastic premise and a great beginning but tends to feel kind of tired during the last half hour.