Swimming with Sharks

Not entirely what you'd expect from the promo art, this strange hybrid of chilling suspense and black comedy bears a surprisingly deep, developed cast of characters and a bitter, intense message about the origins of a corporate monster. Kevin Spacey is at his usual best as the pompous, demeaning studio executive with a finger in every pie, while journeyman Frank Whaley (Brett from Pulp Fiction) overplays the wide-eyed, naïve farmboy act as Spacey's hapless assistant on the edge of a breakdown.

While early scenes hint this is just another predictable, pull-for-the-little-man light comedy, the narrative's regular flashes forward in the timeline paint a larger, more sinister picture. When the dust settles, Spacey is revealed to be far more complicated and damaged than he lets on, Whaley has worked himself into a deep, dark pit of trouble and neither man is who they were at the outset. Bewildering at times due to the jolting changes in tone and atmosphere, it lingers with the viewer well after the credits have rolled.

A great movie about the ruthless world of filmmaking in Hollywood, wit Kevin Spacey as probably the worst boss one can ever have. Great movie, great acting.

The femme fatale does not get a happily ever after, to put it mildly.

A depiction of the screenwriters actual experience in Hollywood.

A (my friend) thought the women was the most evil character because she was thinking or acting like it was love with Guy, manipulating or twisting him up... But I thought she was the least awful one. She wanted authenticity in a cutthroat world. Unlike A I'm _not_ sure "she played the kitten to get her project in" because to me it felt like she cared.

This movie would be worth watching just for Spacey's performance of the boss from Hell alone, but there's more going on. Any normal person working under that abuse would have just quit the job.

In some ways, like _The Secretary._

If you want to move up in the film industry, you have to pay a price.

This was fun and nasty.