Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on October 2013

Directorial debut by Geoffrey Fletcher, who won a screenwriting Oscar for Precious, attempts to juxtapose frothy teen girlishness with shocking violence, and mostly fails. A pair of teenage hitpersons (Alexis Bledel & Saoirse Ronan) is flummoxed by their latest target: a world-weary, cancer-ridden guy in trouble with the Mob who isn’t afraid of death (a magnificent James Gandolfini). None of this is of course the least bit plausible, and that’s artsy fartsy intentional. But the lack of dramatic credibility makes it hard to care, and despite a few magical Gandolfini moments, there is little depth here. (88 min)