this movie got a lot of hype at the oscars, with two male leads winning academy awards. so, i wanted to finally see what all the fuss was about.

first things first, i really liked the acting. i can see why both sean penn and tim robbins received oscars for their performances. i could really feel for both of them, especially tim robbins’ character who suffered from sexual abuse as a child (not that i suffered from it). i have waited for tim robbins to have another noteworthy performance since the shawshank redemption. he does such as great job in this film, i can’t get over it. i feel bad for kevin bacon. he is actually a good actor, but he’s made some poor movie decisions in the past (e.g., wild things and hollow man). plus, i keep picturing him as the perverted child molestor from sleepers. i’ve never really liked sean penn, but ever since 21 grams, my mind has been changing.

the story was an entirely different thing. although it was interesting and intricate, i ended it with a feeling of ambivalence. i didn’t know if there was a real moral to the story, not that there always has to be one. i felt that if i learned anything at all from watching it, it’s that people ultimately put their own happiness before other people’s. but i could be completely off base. perhaps there is no definite lesson to be learned.