FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Neil Welch Ansel Roth is a pathetic loser, trying to eke a living from ill-attended lecture tours based on his expertise as a de-programmer of cult members. In order to stay one step ahead of his agent (aka threatening creditor) he accepts a commission from Claire's parents to de-program her.A synopsis leads you to believe that this is a drama: it turns out to be a mystery (indeed, you may still be baffled by some of it when it ends), a character study and, at times, a very black comedy.Ansel is played by Leland Orser. The average reaction on reading the name is "Who?", but the average reaction on seeing the face is "Oh, him!" - having had a lengthy and successful career playing supporting parts, he gets a lead role here and is phenomenal.Mary Elizabeth Winstead plays Claire. I like Winstead enormously. She has an air of attractive ordinariness to her (which is probably why she isn't at the top of her tree), and that suits Claire visually. The part is multi-layered and complex, and Winstead's sharp performance makes her unforgettable.My only reservation concerns the ending, which may make less sense than I thought. But the acting alone makes this worth catching.

brenden33 Who will like this movie? Well all those who can remember and liked the Rod Serling 1960s TV series "The Twilight Zone".Your traveling thru another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination.The plod of the Twilight Zone series revolved around an ordinary Joe or Jane and a situation that took them to somewhere out of normal. In Faults its "Ansel" played by Leland Orser a 50s writer/expert on cult control. He is a battler who is down on luck and this is his story.Set in the 1970s it sets the scene of awkward nativity early, but it is wonderfully acted and tightly scripted and most watchers who can go with the flow will be anxious to see where this story is going. So do NOT read to many reviews which will spoil this surprise ending.It is a lovely blend of dark humor, retro personalities, intelligent dialogue. A classic in my book. If you have not seen The Twilight Zone then watch this, its better.

westsideschl Dramas that principally take place in a room or two had better have attention to detail in sets, props, lighting, and cinematography. And, of course, they should have an engaging, creative story with beyond the call exceptional acting. This film does all that. Why not five stars? First, no subtitles and with sometimes poor articulation, sometimes poor audio levels a lot of dialogue is missed so you have to turn the volume way up or rewind (I did both) and that helped only in a few cases. Second, in the bonus section you can listen to actors, etc. comments as the film progresses. It turned out that the comments were practically useless in understanding the story i.e. several key events were not explained or discussed. Third, there's a bit of deadpan humor interspersed which is fine but it also confuses/detracts from taking a serious subject seriously. Story: A writer of a book (and some times active deprogrammer) about how to override the influence of cults and sects on supposed vulnerable new recruits has some faults one of which is a past failed deprogramming. In debt for a bogus deprogramming book he is trying to peddle to earn enough to live on, he is hounded by the book's creditor. Thus he takes on a job to kidnap and deprogram the supposed daughter of a couple. This is where all the twists show up, many of which are not explained (I guess to leave the viewer to interpret) or just left openly vague.

Sergeant_Tibbs I'll always remember Leland Orser for his nervous role as a surviving victim of Se7en's John Doe. I've probably seen him in bit parts since without realizing it's him, but Faults reveals his talent as he steps up to the task of a leading role. He's perfect as the cheap crook and Riley Stearns matches the darkly comic nature of his character with an ideal introduction. Stearns idiosyncratic style borrows from the best of modern cinema - the Coen brothers, Paul Thomas Anderson and Wes Anderson - but it pays off for a surreal, slightly stilted, but hilarious tone. Its premise of cult manipulation is immediately compelling, and it frames its story in a way that's offered skimmed over when it's portrayed on film and never committed to a full 90 minutes. Faults is a very confident debut, but it's a shame that the film wilts in its second half. It trades humour for a psychological thriller, and while it digs deeper into the characters, it loses its way by breaking its world. If only it didn't stumble in this final stretch, the twists in the ending could have had more impact. Still worth the watch.7/10