source: Spinning Man

"Spinning Man" is a neo-noir film that evolves into a suspenseful cat-and-mouse game between a philosopher professor, Evan Birch (Guy Pearce), and a seasoned detective, Robert Malloy (Pierce Brosnan). The professor is a specialist in the philosophy of language, and one of the intriguing parts of the film is the philosophical banter between the professor and the detective, who has a law degree and is clearly a skilled debater, as well as a savvy investigator. According to the behind-the-scenes segment of the DVD, the film was based on a real event that inspired George Harrar 's book that was subsequently adapted into a screenplay. Brosnan identified "an eliptical sensibility" to the script. That is an apt way of describing the sense of how the film starts with a mundane incident by a lake and a missing person, then builds a story in a non-linear fashion as the philosophical issues start to supersede the crime drama. A point made in the bonus track by the screenwriter was how the character of the professor was "self-destructive." That observation is revealing about the interpretation of the professor by actor Guy Pierce, who played the role with great confidence and no apparent intimidation felt from the aggressive the police detective. It was as if the actor was playing the opposite of what the character is really like, almost like a psychological defense mechanism. Indeed, there were effective details in the film that offered psychological insights into the characters. The professor and his life were forced to leave Evanston following his inappropriate conduct with a young woman. Yet the professor has still kept a memento of a book a matches with the young woman's handwriting on the booklet, setting up a rendezvous. In the same vein, the detective relates to the professor how members of Alcoholics Anonymous carry a coin with them as a reminder not to take a drink. In two crucial moments of the film, the detective is scene handling such a coin. Pearce described the film as "an explanation of human behavior and the fragility of one's identity." The film was successful in integrating philosophical discourse with a standard film thriller. One of the provocative ideas explored in the interaction between the professor and the detective was the thin line between "truth" and the individual's subjective "interpretation of truth." By the end of the film, the detective has taken the professor to school with special insights into his own flawed character. The main narrative posits the question of what happened to the young woman in the incident at Hillside Lake. But the deeper focus is on a provocative human reality of memory, self-identity, and, the word that does not seem to be in the professor's vocabulary: denial.

This movie -as most of movies based on books or novels- tends to have a lot of philosophy between its layers, and the main questions this movie emphasised on are, What is the truth ? Is it subjective or Objective ? Is it what really happened ? or Is it our interpretation of what happened ? The good thing is that you will be given a way to follow after watching this movie regarding the previous questions, but that philosophical point of view didn't ruin the watching experience but it enhanced it by adding to the thrill and suspense that will not end till the credits. The movie has a great team such as "Pierce Bronson" which i believe he did his lowest roles in the movie but that doesn't mean he wasn't good, in addition to "Guy Pearce" who played his role really well, and "Odeya Rush" the younger version of "Mila Kunis" has beautiful eyes and smile and i would like to see her more on the screen. But i felt "Minnie Driver" didn't add a soul to the role by her expression-less face. At the end, it's a good psychological drama movie that you can enjoy watching at home not at the theaters of course, you can catch some nice quotes out of it, and it will keep you focused till the end so no space to feel bored here.

I give "Spinning Man" two stars.. one each for the eye candy that is Odeya Rush and Alexandra Shipp, otherwise there is nothing else to see in this film. It probably could have played out better on the stage or even the radio - or basically just left it as a book. The sides must have been 800-pages long because all that happens is excessive yapping, and I bet the film's budget was mostly spent on throat lozenges for Guy Pearce to keep him from going hoarse during every scene. There's also subplots that do nothing to further the story (i.e. the mousetraps; Halloween scene with the daughter and police, etc) and just end up being a distraction (and an opportunity for more yapping). I don't mind psychological thrillers at all, and don't need body counts to be entertained, but this one is just too much talk with very little thrill.

Evan Birch is a happily married man with two beautiful kids and a caring wife. He teaches philosophy at the university which also qualifies him as a wisdom bearer. With blissful family life and fulfilling career Evan could not ask for better. But, wait, it is not what it looks like, there is more to it. There is girl missing in town, a teen, studying at the same university Evan is associated with, and guess what? Evan is suspected for her disappearance. Police are interrogating him but how can a law-abiding citizen with beautiful family, friends and a satisfying professional life has anything to do with a teens disappearance? Well, the protagonist here will confuse you about his nature, psyche, disposition, with strange observations, deed, and demeanor. Making you question his virtue and dignity. But at the same time his goodness and nobility creates also a positive vibe for him. And there is your 'mystery' connected with the protagonist himself. Did he or didn't he? Spinning man is well executed as a mystery thriller, but it could have been better, regarding the strong narrative and cast. Based on the novel of the same name, screenplay is written cleverly, screwing with audiences minds and have them making assumptions while arranging events rapidly. Guy Pearce is fabulous concerning the difficult character he is playing. Brosnan also shines as a detective. Overall , spinning man is worth a watch, if you dig ephemeral perplexity.

This movie contains absolutely no substance. It strings you along for an hour and 40 minutes for nothing. There is no shocker at the end, it is extremely predictable, and it exploits its viewers. If you want to waste your money on a philosophical movie with random, vague messages, this is the film for you.

I dont know why,but the stars seems to be falling from the sky. had this been a psycological thriller in the 90's it wouldve been an 8. but this genre is bucket full of average movies,and i feel i wouldve been digging deep in this bucket to even find it. but i did so......it is a fair and square thing,the man gets scared the heck out of due to his attration to female students, but the actimg and plot doesnt make me spin around. its slow , dull and quite boring.eithr guy or pierce are convincing,so if youre not a fan of them then skip it

Pierce Brosnan is investigating the disappearance of a local cheerleader. His prime suspect is philosophy Professor Evan Birch (Guy Pearce). Birch has two issues. One is his infidelity with his students and the second is his faulty memory that remembers things that may or may not have happened. His wife,kids, and university are not excited about what is going on either. Birch is an overly flawed character...maybe. He was not that interesting of a character and as our protagonist, we never knew what to feel because like Evan, we didn't know what was happening, which was the point of the film. This is a different type of mystery where there is only one suspect and he doesn't know if he committed a crime or not. I would think this would be a better book than movie. Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity.

They could have done so much more with this movie. Really great idea, but extremely poore execution. No plot twist, really hard to understand the ending - did he do it, did he not? The ending killed it all for me.

Was an engaging movie up until the ending, when it ran off the rails and was disappointingly vague & floundering. Watching the directors narration still did not answer many obvious questions.