The Couchpotatoes
First of all my wife wasn't a big fan of this movie. Not enough explanations for her and I get that but all in all I thought The Tall Man was original as a story. This story has never been told before and for that it gets some credit from me. It's nicely filmed with enough dark passages, twists and intrigues to keep you interested. It's not a horror movie though. A thriller yes but certainly not a horror movie. The cast is good with good performances, nothing bad to say about them. I liked the fact that I thought I figured it out completely but that at the end I was completely wrong. I like movies that can surprise me. Nothing more boring then a movie where you know exactly what's going to happen next. And that's not the case with The Tall Man at all.
NateWatchesCoolMovies
Pascal Laugier's The Tall Man is one of the more interesting thrillers of the last decade, and is almost the cinematic equivalent to a roper dope. It's leads us down one path and appears to be headed in that direction, and suddenly veers off in an intriguing detour into territory you'd never expect it to venture. It's not so much a twist as it is a paradigm shift in the core of the story, which leaves some in the dust and confused, but worked very well for me. In the dilapidated, worn out northern town of Cold Rock, children are going missing, disappearing into the night without a trace, and with only one clue: a foreboding 'tall man' that some folks reported seeing on their land, or lurking in the forest. The Sheriff (William B. Davis) is hopeless, and even the fed they call in (the great Stephen Mchattie) is perplexed. When waitress Julia Denning's (Jessica Biel, fiercely deglammed) child is snatched in the night and kidnapped by this fiend, she desperately pursues him in an excellent sequence as he careens down the highway in an ominous van. He escapes with her boy, and she is left to piece together what has happened to the youngsters of Cold Rock. I won't say anymore as it would ruin the plot, but it goes to some really unexpected places, and I dare you to guess the outcome. There's also great work from Vancouver actors Garwin Sanford, and Jodelle Ferland as a mute girl who figures in the mystery. Director Laugier is famous for his grisly, panic attack inducing shocker Martyrs, which features an equally compelling story arc. Although he tones down the brutality here, that 'anything goes', serpentine style of plotting still prevails, to the films advantage. We find ourselves confounded that point A is so radically different from point B, and what's more, we enjoy the journey getting there as well. That unique narrative blueprint, combined with gorgeous British Columbia photography and a chilly, unsettling atmosphere makes for a thriller that smacks genre conventions right in the face, and aims wholeheartedly to entertain us.
David Arnold
In the small town of Cold Rock, children have been going missing and the local population have given the mystery abductor the name of the "Tall Man". When Julia Denning's (Jessica Biel) child is the latest to be abducted, she sets out to track him down and tries and find out the identity of the mysterious Tall Man.The movie starts off at a good, steady pace and keeps your interest peaked but it's one of those movies where you have to pay really close attention to what is happening as it gets pretty in-depth and confusing as it goes on. The story and idea is quite an interesting and original one, but the direction that the story goes I think it tries to be a bit too clever and instead of being a really good psychological thriller with excellent twists, it becomes a bit of a mess.It's not a movie that spells out what is happening to you on a platter either. It's definitely a "thinker" of a movie and leaves you to work out what's going on for yourself and while that can be a good thing at times, sometimes it's good to have just a wee bit of an explanation for certain things.The Tall Man does make you think, like I say, and it's an OK psychological thriller, but in all honesty it's not the best. It's quite bewildering how it gets high star ratings from people too, but then again if we all liked the same movies and hated the same movies it would become very boring.Not bad but definitely not that great either.
chun li
From a technical standpoint, its professionally made. Audio sounds particularly impressive. That said, the story is a whole load of nothing. Jessica Biel is attractive.*warning, massive spoiler alert coming up* The most unexpected member of the community, an attractive nurse (Jessica Biel) is involved in the taking of children from underprivileged families and allowing them to lead a better life with wealthy people. All the while, the families of the missing children put the disappearances down to a mystery character called the Tall Man, who is believed to live in the woods. The nurse believes, by doing what she is doing, she is breaking the cycle of white trash having children only for them to grow up and turn into white trash and have children.How this film got the green light remains a mystery. It's estimated budget was $18,200,000. A figure obtained from IMDb. There's no way this film could have made it's money back.2/10
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