The charming smile of Clive Owen (Ray) could not save this movie; or the star persona of Julia Roberts (Claire). It is quite frankly, a horrible mess. The entire film moves back and forth in time as the character's plan their con. The problem: you never know where in time you are, how you got there, or what is going on. By the time these questions are explained you have lost interest from being thoroughly confused the moment prior. It is an intriguing plot but the structure completely ruins it for an audience member. It is one thing to keep the audience guessing, it is another to completely leave them in the dark.

If you take each scene separately this film is very well written. The dialogue is smart and full of quick wit and there is a great twist to the story. The character's each have a very distinct voice and have been created to carefully complement or have a striking distance to one another. It is the construction of the screenplay as a whole that destroys the story, and the writing it is built upon, for it has little cohesion.

The actual music in the film is done satisfactory. The level of the score is disastrous. In many of the scenes the non-diegetic score is playing so loudly you are distracted from the dialogue and plot. Even in the scenes with no dialogue and purely action it feels overbearing and out of place. It is not complementing the movie but taking away from its key points and normal flow of action. A score should add to a film, not overtake it.

The chemistry between the characters of Ray and Claire is seriously lacking. They spend so much time playing games with each other you never fully trust their feelings for each other are genuine. He comes across as charming and easily fooled while she is cold and distant throughout. The desire to see them together as a couple is never realized. Instead, you wish he would play a con on her for being so incredibly unlikable.