I Want You (1998)

"I Want You" is a klunker flick out of the UK disguised as dark drama which focuses on a hairdresser (Weiz) who is stalked by an excon (Nivola). Shot as a character study, which, given its shallow plot, means a whole lot of tedious camera voyeurism pouring over a core cast of four for which we're given little reason to care. Capped with an ambiguous ending and flawed with plot-holes, the flick is very forgettable, unsatisfying, and low in entertainment value. Recommended for terminally bored mature audiences only.

When I went to see this film I have never expected it to be anything special. Even when I got out i couldn't realize at first what a marvelous film I have seen. I must say I want you was far above my expectations and I still believe that I won't see a movie like this one for quite some time. Rachel Weisz and Alessandro Nivola were superb in their roles and the dialogs between them were very little but extremely convincing and touching. The cinematography was excellent and the atmosphere it created was very haunting and in accordance with the loneliness and desperation of the main characters. This film is not for shallow or clear cut people since the only reaction they (will )give would be something like :'what the hell is this film about?'. To that I must say I want you is not a film to understand and analyze but to feel and admire.I fell in love with both Rachel Weisz and Alessandro Nivola and I wish them the best. I want you is along with The talented Mr. Ripley the best film I have seen in my life. A 6 out of 5.

'I Want You' is unique, transcending British cinema in one easy leap. What the film offers that makes it special is a portrait of obsessive desire and compulsion framed quite brazenly in an English coastal town. Cinematographer Slawomir Idziak (of Three Colours Red/White and Blue fame) commits to celluloid a most distinct and unfamiliar slice of life in a claustrophobic town, complimented superbly with Winterbottom's direction.The cast although largely unknown (with the exception of Weisz and Nirvola) effortlessly demand attention and understanding and the development of these characters is really what the film is all about.'I Want You' consciously refers back to cult films like 'Red Rock West' and 'Romeo is Bleeding' and here it seems Micheal Winterbottom may just have produced an English answer.

A typical film which the Festival of Perth company shows at the Sommerville [outdoor/deckchair] Auditorium: But by far one of the best in recent years.Cooky enough to keep people interested, but not over the top so people leave before the film's really started (like what I saw in Lost Highway!).Helen, seemingly innocent, involved herself in something she didn't understand. Got her Daddy killed (Natural Born Killers?) by boyfriend who goes to jail.Honda to the rescue. A Mute who uses all kinds of wonderful instruments to tape all sorts of noises. His rock star nympho sister having sex. Helen and DJ Dave getting into it 500 metres away in a car @ the beach, and most importantly, Helen killing Martin in self defence as he "raped" her. Helen is intrigued by Honda who uses all forms of presents to woo his girl.I really enjoyed this film. It really made me think, which is the reason some of us go to the flicks.VERY small cast and even smaller setting made for great tale to be told. Honda stole the film, my girlfriend thought he was great. Helen stole the film for me. She is the sexiest thing I've seen on screen since Elizabeth Shue in Leaving Las Vegas. Though for all the working out she was portrayed to be doing, when she got her gear off, she had rather less muscular legs than you'd think for an "endorphin junkie"! Minor glitch in an otherwise excellent film...