SPOILERS THROUGH:<br /><br />I didn't love it or hate it. I was intrigued definitely and look at the acting! For film buffs who dig the performance driven piece, this is a dream come true. The Penns star as the married couple, Eddie & Maureen and both give performances that are stunning.<br /><br />There's a dark intensity about the movie that can hook one in but there's no denying this is not a pleasant film to watch and for those who like a bit of sweet escapism to their films, they should run like the wind if they put this on, because that isn't what their going to get.<br /><br />For those however, who like their films dark, character driven, edgy, capped off with a bit of despair look no further, it's all here. I happen to like a bit of both of the above mentioned types of movies. In terms of this film, I neither liked it or didn't like it. I appreciated it and was awed by the performances. And the relationship between Eddie & Mo, yeah, it is definitely more realistic then the characters of "Pretty Woman" to put it mildly!. In fact the EESENSE of the relationship is captured so deeply that it is genuinely surprising as a film. I have not seen that many relationships, both the love and the toxic aspect captured that compellingly.<br /><br />The choice that Mo makes at the end didn't surprise me that much because by then one could see the ties that bind this couple were stronger for Mo, then anything else. There was NOT just love between this couple but need and an almost desperate addiction. At the end, the connection these two had, is captured in that one look between them in the last scene which was done flawlessly and didn't need any dialog. This movie reminded me of "Sid & Nancy". It's a painful movie to watch at times but well done, very much so, on the character study and the cinematography and atmosphere were also perfect.<br /><br />But in spite of the positives I wouldn't give it higher then a 7. In fact I almost gave it a 6. This is due mainly to the second part of the film. John Travolta was very good but the way his character suddenly changes from a sensitive hardworking guy to a screechy scowling gun toting bully was baffling. There's also the change of attitude toward the little girl. The whole gun storyline did not strike me as even necessary and I guess I felt, honestly, that the themes explored here-insanity, rape, codependency,child neglect-were way to serious to make into a black comedy which starts happening in the second half of the movie. I haven't seen that many movies this serious go into black comedy territory that unexpectedly and I will admit I didn't like that. There was a lot I didn't like toward the end of the film.<br /><br />Everyone has their own rating system when it comes to movies. For me a 6 is about average or slightly above and is also reserved for those "guilty pleasure" type movies. A 7 is anywhere from OK to good and an 8 and above are those movies that are really very good to excellent. I'd give this a 7, not because I loved it but for the reasons mentioned above and will freely admit this movie stayed with me after longer then I would have thought it would. 7 of 10.