The Blackout review

Maverick director Abel Ferrara's best films are blistering examinations of guilt, evil and redemption. However, this alleged psychological thriller is an extremely hollow and surprisingly tedious affair. Matthew Modine is the Hollywood star who pitches up on Miami beach looking for his French girlfriend (the voluminous-of-mouth Béatrice Dalle), only to find himself embroiled in the sleazy world of a deranged video director (Dennis Hopper, cast boldly against type). Eighteen months later and Matty is in New York, attempting a new drugs-free life with Claudia Schiffer, no less, yet he's tormented by nightmarish memories of a fateful night in the past. The visuals strive for a hallucinatory effect, but can't compensate for the shoddy scripting and, Modine excepted, risible performances. The only mystery here is why we should care about Matty's predicament. Rent David Lynch's Lost Highway instead.