When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Blistering performances.

Art professor Allen Meneric (Nick Stahl) is being evaluated at a mental institution for criminals. He brutally murdered a man who he thought raped his girlfriend, with the irony of it being the wrong man. While in prison he has flashbacks to his childhood to let us know he has other issues as his mom's number two son.In prison Allen meets Ben Marshall played by a Toj Johnson looking Pruitt Taylor Vince. He has a wonderful character, whose crime we don't find out until the end. He provides the production with some good dry humor during the early slow character build up. Lines such as: "I have friends, Bob and Isaac. I can't really count Isaac because only Bob can see him."Eventually Allen gets moved to minimum security where he meets the bipolar Mia (Olivia Wilde) whose character subplot was weak. The film eventually transforms from a smart psychological drama to an action film that doesn't quite make it. Good acting. Sharp dialog. But the ending didn't bring it home.PARENTAL GUIDE: F-bomb, sex, no nudity.This is another film shot in Pittsburgh which due to its financial incentives, infrastructure, and skilled locals is becoming the "Hollywood" of the east.

mrc303 nailed it..Olivia Wilde's amazing performance.. along with Nick and the rest.The acting was superb.. writing OK.. and overall very well done.Simple fact is the actor(s) did as was needed and then some.A sadly under rated winner IMHO.How on earth this is only a 4.9 is astounding. Maybe the "Napoleon" fans need to learn what real acting is.Oh and Min lines etc rules... phooey (review editor can remove this line but pls let the superiors know that it's not an effective rule to prevent spam. etc etc)

A decent but troubled young man (Nick Stahl) is sent to a psychiatric institution for the criminally insane and soon finds himself in a fight for his life battling ghosts inside his head and very real enemies all around him.This film has received generally low ratings and reviews, and I find that unfortunate. I saw one review saying this film had no point. I will not even address that. I did find it extremely odd that an intelligent young man was put in a psychiatric ward when he is clearly a rational person. What he did was heinous, but completely understandable and not in any way due to mental illness. But, oh well.That issue aside, the acting is great (without the need for "big names"), the story is fantastic (not your typical prison story), the directing is more than adequate. The actor who plays Ben really steals the show. I am sad to see that Olivia Wilde does little more than serve as the romantic interest. Her mental issues could be a good story of their own, but are more or less completely ignored.Great film? Probably not. But better than average and worth seeing.

Watch this one for the acting. We get to see some pretty mainstream actors playing crazy, and it is gripping to watch. Olivia Wilde gave a phenomenal performance. I enjoyed her in this more than anything else I have seen her in. Olivia really went to a vulnerable and broken place to play this role. The story was simple, but this movie wasn't really story driven. In contrast, the characters were deep, and the actor's performances carried this movie. We don't really see the characters grow, or change, except for some subtle realizations at the end. What we do get is a slowly deepening glimpse into the minds of some some very confused people and the deeper we go, the more human they become to us. This movie is really trying to tell us that among the most damaged people in our society, while many are beyond redemption, others are just trying to find happiness, and to figure out what that is for them and if it is even possible given their flawed natures.