A Quick Tip by rbuchanan

Throughout most of its runtime, this audacious sci-fi flick benefits from fine performances, nuanced characterizations, credible CG and exceptional makeup. Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley star as a married pair of accomplished yet marginalized genetic engineers who create a humanoid life form (Abigail Chu, Delphine Chanéac) of rapid growth and unprecedented adaptability. Although the leads are undermined by sloppy and abrupt editing similar to that of a sneak preview cut during the film's first twenty minutes, their efforts are nonetheless complemented by first-rate effects in aid of an unnerving, compelling, knotty, sexy story that's most effective when reflecting the tensions and shifting sympathies of the wedded scientists in regard to their creation and one another. During the final fifteen minutes, these cultivated characters become disposable targets because neither director Vincenzo Natali nor his co-authors knew how to conclude their tale as thoughtfully as they developed it. Ah, well.