I never been a big fan of Paul Giamatti, but I found him to be a likable actor. And I liked his acting in some of his movies and this is one of them. What this movie is, is a dramatic black comedy with some artistic elements in it as well. Sometimes a movie can be driven by the actors or actresses and this is the case for this movie. For a role like this Paul Giamatti was perfect for his role and his acting was spot on. So with a good actor that actually fit the role with and interesting and absorbing story makes a pretty good movie. And that is the case for this movie. The premise and the character decisions and thoughts just come off a bit weird and doesn't make any sense sometimes. Especially the scenario where the characters talk about achieving happiness and understanding is better when you get rid of the soul. So by extracting the soul, it makes people happy and this isn't really explained all that much in the movie. So yeah despite some areas that isn't explained all that well, it's a interesting movie. How just being hollow and empty is being truly happy and all is just a bit far-fetched. But later on it goes in a direction that is sort of predictable but understandable. Just thought it would be better if it was further explained a bit in the beginning of the process and the reason behind it all. So the story is about the life of a soulless man and his experiences while being soulless. The direction and humor is clever sometimes and the satire is very well done in this. Which can be difficult to pull off, but with a good actor that actually has something he can actually work with. It really does work for the most part. It comes close to being a great film that could have been a cult classic, but some flat and plain moments in this makes it from reaching that level. Also think if it had a bit more clever black humor in it, it would have been better.
7.9/10
