Everybody Cheats On Everybody

The movie 360, directed by acclaimed Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles (City of God, The Constant Gardener), has not received many good reviews from critics. But the film, to me, was a pleasant surprise.

360 was shot in seven cities around the world, many of which are my favourites except for Paris. From Vienna to Paris to London to Rio de Janeiro - all done with great style. It's not unusual for adultery and infidelity to be themes for movie plots nowadays, but in this flick, it goes even further. Everybody cheats on everybody else. Depressing? Maybe. But it's also amusing. The story goes in full circle as the title suggests, but there's also a 'six degrees of separation' theme interwoven into it.

Above all, I most enjoyed the acting from the international cast, all of whom gave their best. Jude Law and Rachel Weisz are always good - the former is definitely aging with his receding hairline while the latter doesn't look one day older than her award-winning appearance in The Constant Gardener, also by the same director. The relatively less famous actors from Czechoslovakia, Brazil and Russia all give credible performances. But the most impressive actor in this flick is Ben Johnson who gives a bone-chilling performance in his role of a reforming sexual predator. Do we need Sir Anthony Hopkins for this movie? Probably not, but he's comfortable even in an 'uncomfortable' role.

Nobody even mentioned the soundtrack for this movie, but I thought it's one of the film's biggest attractions. The plot might be a bit disjointed at times, but overall, style trumps content in this one!