I like stories that have a consistent ground truth behind them. Movies that end intentionally ambiguously (such as Total Recall or Inception) annoy me. This movie is worse. It seems to have a ground truth but presents a world that violates that truth.
I've read on the forums here that the director's commentary claims that Anna was alive and that the funeral director killed her.
This may have been the director's (or the writer's) intent, but there are also story elements that indicate something else is going on. We see dream and hallucination sequences that seem to contain information the dreamer wouldn't know. There is a bobble-head doll that turns to face Paul as he walks around the room.
The idea that a living Anna wouldn't fight more completely breaks my suspension of disbelief. She doesn't seem to eat for days (or have other bodily functions).
In the end, this is just a movie. The director's intent in telling a story does not make it fact. There is no ground truth in reality and not even a decent facsimile in fiction. The film was shot, edited and acted very well, but no level of production quality can make up for a poorly written story.
If you would like a visceral thriller built around the theme of an idea, you will probably enjoy this. If you are looking for a well thought out supernatural mystery, you will be disappointed.
I've read on the forums here that the director's commentary claims that Anna was alive and that the funeral director killed her.
This may have been the director's (or the writer's) intent, but there are also story elements that indicate something else is going on. We see dream and hallucination sequences that seem to contain information the dreamer wouldn't know. There is a bobble-head doll that turns to face Paul as he walks around the room.
The idea that a living Anna wouldn't fight more completely breaks my suspension of disbelief. She doesn't seem to eat for days (or have other bodily functions).
In the end, this is just a movie. The director's intent in telling a story does not make it fact. There is no ground truth in reality and not even a decent facsimile in fiction. The film was shot, edited and acted very well, but no level of production quality can make up for a poorly written story.
If you would like a visceral thriller built around the theme of an idea, you will probably enjoy this. If you are looking for a well thought out supernatural mystery, you will be disappointed.