Antitrust (Anti-trust)

When a young computer whiz (Ryan Phillippe) is wooed by a huge Silicon Valley company, he soon discovers that his boss (Tim Robbins) has rather nefarious ways around antitrust complaints... (Claire Forlani plays Phillippe's girlfriend; Rachael Leigh Cook is a coworker)

genres: crime, thriller
release date: January 12, 2001
cast: Ryan Phillippe, Tim Robbins, Rachael Leigh Cook, Claire Forlani, Nate Dushku
director: Peter Howitt (Sliding door)
screenwriter: Howard Franklin
official website: click here


Pictures, click here
Sounds, click here
Download trailer, click here



Here're some interesting links.



Reviews: by Polina

I'm sure in the coming weeks there will be plenty of bad reviews of AntiTrust written by disgruntled computer geeks (and I don't mean that as a put-down) nitpicking the movie and pointing out all its technological inconsistencies. However, I am luckily completley unincumbered by any computer knowledge, so I could just sit back and enjoy the movie for what it is: a fast, smart, only half-serious Tim Robbins extravaganza.

I'm sure in the eyes of the studio the real marketing opportunity lies with the three younger stars. Yeah right. Tim steals the movie and completely obliterates everybody and everything around him. Even the digital canvas, the coolest special effect since that thing they made Keanu Reeves do in The Matrix, fades when Tim walks into the room. I'm not just saying this because I'm a fan: I've already seen at least three reviews that have agreed with me. Tim is having so much fun, in a few scenes he looks like he's about to burst; he skips through the movie like a giddy overgrown teenager (which, if you think about it, is exactly who he's playing), and the viewers get swept up in his fun whether they want to or not. Your mouth involuntarily stretches out into a smile whenever Tim appears on screen. And believe me, I checked: it wasn't just me. Even the scary-looking undeodorized crazy lady on my right was smiling up at Tim.

Tim isn't actually on his own in this movie - the story is good. It lives up to the double-meaning of the title with a vengeance: you really don't know who to trust, and the film never lets you feel superior to the hero by letting you guess who's who. Ryan Philippe is surprisingly good in his role as Milo; he almost holds his own against Tim. He never really manages, however, to hide his awe of Tim; and at the end of the movie, when he has to play fear and hatred of this guy, you can still see the actor's respect under it; but that, of course, is just what the movie needs: this Gary Winston is the kind of guy everybody loves no matter what. Tim might have drawn on Bill Gates for his look, but his character reminds me more of another Bill: Clinton; a person so charming, you can almost forgive him for murder. There is a great and funny scene in which Gary comes down to one of the offices full of programmers: watch for the reactions of his employees as he appears in the room. The! y melt under his gaze, all loving smiles and stuttering affection. The way one of them says "Hi Gary" to him is the way I would sound if I ever attempted to say hi to Tim himself - which is exactly why I never do, because my god, it sounds pathetic! Something tells me the bit players in that scene had no trouble with their motivation: all they had to do was be themselves and react to Tim Robbins walking through the room.

Another reason Tim is so overwhelming is that he gets to play the juiciest, most complex character in the film. He sinks his teeth all the way in. His giddy overgrown teenager just happens to have a mean streak and very little sense of reality (as all teenagers do), but he never turns into a full-blown evil guy. That always bothers me in a lot of movies of this type: the transformation from sweet to evil is usually so complete, it makes the whole film laughable. Gary, however, remains a giddy teenager and is actually surprised and confused when people turn out not to like his methods! When he rails against the Justice Department and asks, "Why are they after me?" he's not putting Milo on - he genuinely doesn't know. When he sees his pet project crumble, his reaction is, "It's MINE!" I know lots of people like that, although (thankfully) not as rich and powerful. Hell, my father is like that! He is so scary because he is so real.

I will definitely see this movie again.

 
 

home | what's new | profile | biography | filmography | movie gross | quotes | upcoming movies | media reports | picture gallery | multimedia | postcards | polls | links | interviews | message board | email webmaster |