John:

I guess I could just start out simply by asking "What's to get?"

I really liked it, for several reasons. I liked the narrator Ricky Jay who crops up now and then. He is a magician and a conossieur <=don' know how to spell that word of dice. He's been on X Files, he's been in a cute little movie called "Hole in the Sky" with Sam Elliot, and he is one of the regulars in the films of David Mamet.

I liked the backing vocals of Aimee Mann

I liked the filmography, i.e. the quality of the shots, the pacing, which is on the slow side for an American film.

And I bought the climax, which for me is amazing. I'm a real stickler for reality and causality etc. etc. but in this case I went for it.

I guess I accepted the notion that things can get or seem overwrought, that we are all quite messed up each in his or her own way, and that if there is a resolution it may be out of our own hands.

I liked Tom Cruise, I always like William H. Macey. It was one of Jason Robards' last roles, Philip Seymour Hoffman was outstanding, some of the scenes were a bit much in their emotional effluvia (I insisted that my brother watch it and he was less enthusiastic than I).

Considering the nature of the film, I thought it was also very funny. I found it charming and unique.

I'd be happy to go into it more with you, because I was rather surprised that I liked it so much.