My subject sounds a big gray there, but so is the film.<br /><br />I saw this last night at the New York Film Critics screening in New Jersey and I came away with very mixed feelings.<br /><br />First the positives: <br /><br />1. I loved Bang Bang. She was hilarious. Sadly, I think I was the only person who laughed at her antics. The theater was surprisingly quiet during her wacky moments. Shame.<br /><br />2. The acting was phenomenal. The actors really fit into their roles and I enjoyed them tremendously.<br /><br />Now, the negatives: <br /><br />1. When does this take place? I know this was an homage to old con films like Paper Moon, but I felt like not only was Penelope someone shut out of reality, but so was everyone else involved in the con. I know Stephen wanted to put Penelope into an alternate world with the steamer ship, but even the scenes that preceded her involvement were from another era.<br /><br />2. The plot got lost somewhere in Prague. If you find it can you put it back into the film, please?<br /><br />Rian Johnson omitted a plot point because he said (at the Q&A afterward) that he couldn't come up with a clever idea for it. And so we're left wondering. Is this a good way to leave an audience guessing? I disagree. Instead he should have had Bloom and Stephen marvel over what had happened and not question it, for it raised a question in my head that will never be answered.<br /><br />3. Johnson also omitted a scene because he felt it changed the mood of the film so dramatically that it didn't fit. I can totally understand that, but to not reveal the cause of an event that was kept in, removed me from the film. I found myself stepping backward by the last act, because I no longer felt connected to the story. In the end I felt like the one who had been conned.<br /><br />I understand that it's nice to discuss a film and have something to talk about with people, but to leave gaping holes in it because you couldn't come up with an idea on your own or because the scene filmed changed the mood just isn't the way to do it. It really ruined the climax for me.<br /><br />4. Why did someone else narrate the film? Who was he?<br /><br />In the end I felt conned by the movie: It tugged at my heartstrings, but in the end left me empty.