Frank (Michael Shannon) is a mercurial chef in Las Vegas. He has a passionate romance with mysterious budding fashion designer Lola (Imogen Poots). She reveals that her mother's former boyfriend Alan Larsson (Michael Nyqvist) had raped her. Her new boss Keith Winkleman (Justin Long) gets Frank an audition for a famous chef in France. After the audition, Frank heads for Paris to confront Alan.

The start is a bit muddled and disjointed. Frank and Lola need a good meet cute. Shannon is great at the brooding dark role. Despite the age difference, Poots projects a damaged soul who is attracted to Shannon's powerful darkness. I do question the confrontation with Alan. I can't believe that Alan would invite a perfect stranger into his love nest unless he's looking for a homoerotic one-night stand. I would increase the tension by having Frank kidnap him ending up at Alan's pad. The entire movie is a little disjointed but I do appreciate the noirish style. It could have been executed better.

Imogen Poots and Michael Shannon are Frank and Lola. Justin Long is Keith, who introduces Frank to big wheelers and dealers. when Lola takes a job working with Keith, Frank gets jealous.... and rightly so. apparently, Lola is sleeping with other guys...and keith seems to be going out on a limb for Frank, to get him a job. the story meanders all over the place. ... it took a LONG time to find out what the plot is really about. Lola may be into more things than she's telling Frank about. but what will he do now that he knows the truth? so many things are possible in Vegas. sex. drugs. violence. and when someone is ready to make him chef of his own restaurant, will he be ready for the challenge? and what will he give up to be his own boss? it's just okay. Written and directed by Matthew Ross.

I'm a little surprised by the current 5.9 rating on here, so I really felt I needed to write a review.

The film is a little offbeat, definitely not your standard Hollywood fare. It's gritty, and fairly uncompromising. It takes place in Las Vegas and Paris, and the reason I mention that is because this sort of feels more like a French film than the American film that it actually is.

It is an American film that was selected for Sundance, and then was picked up by a Hollywood distributor.

For a person like myself who has literally seen thousands of films from all over the world, I understand and appreciate the rarity of realist films like this with very human characters and very real feelings.

I enjoyed the film entirely, and I definitely plan to watch it at least one more time in my life. It's a good film at the very least, and perhaps even better. I suspect that I may even rate this film a little higher upon a second viewing. It's one of those types of films that may be enjoyed even more with a less surprised viewer, because yes, the film like real life is a little unsettling at times. There was no doubt at the end of the film however that I definitely enjoyed it a lot.

I must mention that I thought both Shannon and Poots were nothing short of tremendous.

To end, let me just say that if you want something not so standard, or you're a huge film buff who's seen tons, definitely see this film!!

7.5/10