Romulus, a misunderstood musician turned recluse hiding from personal demons in a New York City cave, finds the frozen body of a young drifter in a tree. The authorities, including his police officer daughter, claim the death is accidental. Romulus is convinced the man was murdered by a prominent art photographer but how can he prove he's right when everyone thinks he's insane?
Jackson's convincing portrayal of an untethered psyche scrambling for purchase on the slippery slope of sanity and Lemmons's arresting cinematic vision, in which we see the world through the eyes of a man continually descending into ...madness, is enough.
– Michael O'Sullivan,
Washington Post,
9 Mar 2001
rotten:
Burdened by sloppy plot turns and unbelievable characters.
– Peter Howell,
Toronto Star,
16 Mar 2001
rotten:
This is a commercial film with limited ambitions.
– Ray Conlogue,
Globe and Mail,
22 Mar 2002
rotten:
Lemmons creates mesmerizing passages, but she can't bring this one to a fulfilling crescendo.