Instant Favorite.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

For starters, I cannot fathom why Downey accepted this role of Clyde Pell, a private detective. Granted, those were troubled times for him on a personal front but roles like this do no justice to his immense active gift. This movie, although being claimed as a thriller, does not give you a feel of one. The story is about how a lawyer, who has everything going for him, is played by an unassuming woman into taking his case. From there on his life turns upside down. The story is about how he gets out of this mess and pieces it back again. A lot more could have been done to make it interesting and gripping but the movie shows the lack of direction & interest.

It was a Very Odd Collaboration. Director Robert Altman who Never Made a Mainstream Movie and John Grisham who Never Wrote a Novel Made into a Movie that wasn't Mainstream. This Uneasy Fit Managed to be Overshadowed by Altman whose Quirky Style and Mannerisms Knocked the Laziness and Pedestrianism of Grisham's Storytelling Every which way and then some.It's a Dark and Wet Neo-Noir with Strong Characters some of which are "A few beers short of a six-pack!" These are Southern White Trash Eccentrics and Fast Talking Lawyer Womanizers Spinning Around in a Web of Sultry Savannah Moss. Trying to Stay One Step Ahead of the Plot, the Audience is Given a Thick Atmosphere of Weather Bearing Down on the Climax.Robert Altman Fans might be Disappointed and John Grisham Fans might be Disappointed, but the Film is Less Than Disappointing and is a Fun, if Murky Movie that has Enough Colorful Characters Played by Big Name Actors. There is Kenneth Branagh Driving this Thing with Both Hands along with Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall, Darryl Hannah, and others. A Movie that was Abandon by the Studio and Shoved Disrespectfully on the Circuit with Bad Publicity and Little Regard. It Ended Up being Critically Accepted if not Acclaimed, but it Really is a Better Film than its Reputation and is Certainly Worth a Watch, for if Nothing Else its Artistery.

This is a good example of a film that had potential...that went wrong. I understand that director Robert Altman blamed the studio for severe post-production editing. Sorry, but the problems this film has are far deeper than post-production editing. In fact, I have an idea the editing helped.However, this is not a bad film. This is a film you want to watch if you like suspense. It has it, and it is the one thing in the film that really works pretty well. Even there, however, there are a couple of flaws. Within the first 15 minutes I concluded that Robert Downey's character -- a private eye -- would end up dead before the film was over; very predictable. Within the first half hour it was pretty clear that Tom Berenger's character had some further use in the film -- perhaps as the bad guy -- when his early scenes gave him almost no screen time...something an actor who was doing pretty good at that time in his career wouldn't accept; so, clearly, his character was being saved for the climax.Another plus here is the setting -- Savannah, Georgia. It's different, even a bit exotic, although I'm not sure we needed to add in a hurricane.In terms of the acting, very uneven. I've always thought Kenneth Branagh was a very good actor; here he gets by. Embeth Davidtz is quite good as the daughter who is knee-deep in conspiracy; probably the best performance in the film. Robert Downey, Jr. was sleepwalking through this film; or perhaps staggering through it, since this was made during that low point in his personal life. I've always liked Downey, but here he's very disappointing, though it could have been a very good role for him. Tom Berenger has too little screen time; more of him would have been preferable, although plot-wise it works. Daryl Hannah...well, suffice it to say that this film highlights her limitations as an actress. If you're a Robert Duvall fan, here's a role (as a nut) he could have really sunk his teeth into...but he also seems to sleepwalk through the part.The suspense factor here makes me give this a "7", but it's very borderline. Not a bad film, but a definite disappointment. Watchable once. John Grishom...what have they done to you?

The Gingerbread Man was based on an original story by John Grisham that was subsequently adapted into screenplay form. The film stars Kenneth Branagh, Embeth Davidtz, Robert Downey Jr, Tom Berenger, Daryl Hannah, Famke Janssen, and Robert Duvall.The screenplay was written by Al Hayes and directed by Robert Altman. This tale that begins at a party where Savannah attorney Rick Magruder celebrates his successful defense of a man who shot a local cop. The party-goers include his ex-wife Leeanne, the mother of his two children; his law partner Lois Harlan; and caterer Mallory Doss. After Mallory finds her car stolen, Rick gives her a ride home where things turn sexual. Attracted to Mallory, he learns that her crazed father Dixon Doss has been threatening her. Getting too closely involved with this woman he hardly knows, Rick has the police round up her unstable father, and he next subpoenas her ex-husband Pete to testify against Dixon, who is institutionalized. The crazed Dixon manages to escape from the asylum, intent on revenge against all his betrayers and enemies. As a potent hurricane blows into Savannah, Mallory's car is torched, and Rick receives threats. Believing his children are in danger, Rick removes them from school, prompting a warrant for his arrest. When his children disappear, Rich goes on the counterattack against Dixon.The movie is a decent story but Robert Altman and his great cast make the most of the material and deliver a solid movie.They took what could have been a generic and ordinary movie by investing artistry and effort, he made it into something more despite of it being uneven and predictable.As for the performances,Kenneth Branagh that holds this film together and does it well.