>>1) why the offensively bad acting? everyone was playing
>their
>>characters WAY over the top...almost like a really bad local
>>theater performance. but then viggo was pretty much playing
>>it straight the whole movie. the little daughter seemed
>>especially terrible. was this intentional?
>
>Don't know what you were watching.

ok...i guess you enjoyed the acting. but did you honestly think it was realistic? if not, why did they choose to overplay it like that?

>>2) what was the point of overplaying the whole idylic,
>>laughably-rockwellian, Everytown USA (the scene where the
>>whole family comes to comfort the little daughter in
>>bed...wtf?) when you've already started the movie with an
>>over-the-top violent scene (the slaughter at the motel)?
>
>Contrast. His history can't be outrun even there.

again, why did they overplay it THAT much? i mean, the scene where the whole family meets in the daughter's bedroom to console her was worse than a Lifetime movie of the week.

>>3) graphic, awkward sex...why?
>
>It's realistic.

what narrative purpose did it serve?

>>4) stilted, badly-choreographed actions scenes...why?
>
>This is a movie about how much trauma violence causes, not a
>Michael Bay movie. Murders don't tend to be
>nicely-choreographed in real life.

no...i meant badly-choreographed as in high-schoolers-filming-a-school-project bad. it almost looked like a video of a rehearsal...like they were still practicing the moves...everyone was stiff as hell and i assume cronenberg used so many quick cuts to hide the awkward choreography. otherwise, he's just really fucking horrible at filming fight scenes.

>>from the opening frame, this was really hard to sit through.
>
>Good, it's supposed to be.

so i *was* supposed to laugh at all of the serious scenes?