This already has most of the Wachowski staples in place: the noir influence, the dramatic visuals, a theme of people breaking out of their confinements, the one-note acting; it’s all here already. It takes a while to get going, as the first act is mostly filled with Tilly’s annoying whisper talk and Gershon playing a Michelle Rodriguez character. I wasn’t exactly intrigued, because there’s very little to these women. Sure, the steamy, lesbian angle makes it unique, but besides that they’re mostly uninteresting characters. I’d argue that a good filmmaker shouldn’t need 40 minutes to make us care about a simple relationship. However, once the actual plot kicks in, the movie instantly finds a great pace and becomes very entertaining. Pantoliano gives a great performance here, and the movie works because of his performance and the filmmaking. The music, editing and camerawork are all at a level that you don’t see often, it truly is a great exercise in building tension within a confined environment. The ending is very satisfying (albeit predictable), and I ended up liking the overall movie quite a bit, but it could’ve been great if the first act did a better job at engaging me emotionally.

6.5/10