rooprect "Strings" gave me a weird experience ranging from utter hatred & disappointment to extreme admiration. First let me explain why I initially hated it. You've probably noticed the 12 fawning IMDb reviews making this film sound like the best thing since "Amadeus". Whether or not that's true, it's sorta funny how 10 of these 12 reviews were written by 1-paragraph, 1-review-only members, all within a month or 2 of the film's release.Hmm... I'll appeal to the mystery lover in you and pose 3 possible explanations: (1) "Strings" is so good it entices Tibetan monks to break their vow of silence to post 1 IMDb review, after which they return to their monkly duties; (2) "Strings" is so awesome it causes people to spontaneously combust, and the shockwaves are so intense it rips the fabric of time, erasing their entire existence prior to seeing the movie; or (3) The director, producer and/or their girlfriends are padding the IMDb ratings with junk accounts.I picked (3). So you can understand the degree of skepticism I had going into it. Right off the bat, it felt rushed, inconsistent and choppy with seemingly vapid characters (most of the characters talking in throaty whispers trying to act cool and saying clichés like "let's rock & roll") who would suddenly turn from cold-hearted killers to weepy softies at the site of a cute kid. The plot seemed preposterous with people pulling off insane heists (like shooting up a billionaire's mansion, then going back an hour later to shoot it up some more, and never was there a trace of police or even the residents' attempt to lock the doors from the invaders). And, apologies to "Face/Off", any movie that hinges on a face transplant immediately loses me. But most of all, it profoundly bothered me that the main character could quickly turn from a depressed, sensitive piano player into a macho, gun-toting criminal within the space of a day or two.After an hour of being subjected to these preposterous scenes, I shut it off and wrote one of the most scathing reviews I've written about any film. But I guess I was too lazy to take the DVD out of the player, so a few hours later I found myself watching the end.It's bizarre. Right around the 1 hour mark, when I had shut it off, the film's tone changes drastically, the characters become much more sober and realistic, the tone and even the cinematography becomes less action oriented and more poetic. And of course the main actor is replaced by another whom I found more interesting to watch.The last 30 minutes of the film is no longer a preposterous crime fantasy Instead it's what I was looking for: a slow but interesting revelation of human nature. The central theme finally emerges: Given the opportunity, can we truly walk away from our past? Or like creatures of habit, slaves of fate, are we destined to revisit the mistakes we once ran away from? The first 60 minutes of "Strings" is about a guy who screws up his life and leaps at the outrageous opportunity to switch to a wild life of crime. As you can see, I wasn't impressed by that part of the story. But to me the real story and the reason why I am now recommending the film is the last 30 minutes where he begins to flirt with going back to his old life. Will history repeat itself? Or will he wrestle free of the karmaic cycle of fate? There's not a lot of action in the last 30 minutes, except of course for a spectacular & surprising finale, but for my money those last 30 minutes are what gave me total satisfaction.NOTE: If they ever release a director's cut, I'll be the first in line to buy it, because I watched the deleted scenes and realized that if these scenes had been included, the first hour wouldn't have seemed so rushed & unbelievable. There are some great scenes showing the main character's reluctant transformation from wuss to wiseguy. And although they would've slowed the pace, they would've made me connect with the main character more, something that didn't happen until the last 30 minutes for me.If you're looking for a straightforward action flick, you might have the opposite reaction that I had. That is, you might be entertained by the first hour and somewhat bored by the last 30 minutes. But if you're looking for deeper meaning (after all, the DVD box compares this to a Christopher Nolan film for gosh sakes), I bet you might feel the way I did: cheated at first, but ultimately rewarded.One way or another, more people should watch this movie and review it so we'll get some HONEST reviews for this flick!

jperry8511 We saw Strings at the Arclight during the Hollywood Film Festival. We went away talking about the story lines all weekend. We were amazed at how you originally wanted to dislike certain actors. But as the plot went on you either loved them or hated them. The acting was impressive, especially compared to other indie films we have seen. We had a hard time viewing this as an indie movie. It is made of a much high quality then most. As far as the actors themselves, Elle LaMont is a site for sore eyes. We hope both she and Olivia Dragucevich (the child actor) are in other movies. We will start searching for them to see. The male actors were cast perfectly for their roles. Jack Lee, Billy Harvey, Karl Anderson, Chris Potter, and the others were extremely believable and should win many awards for their performances.We hope this movie is turned into one that hits the major screen so others can talk all weekend about it too. Great movie!

Guillaume Lantoine STRINGS...soon to be a giant! I had the chance to discover this masterpiece at the White Sands International Film Festival - August 2011 -. Genuine cast, smart trailer, great story - Kudos Mark - it has it all, a nice twist half way through the movie, and a load of emotions. Also, it feels good to see some action without a succession of special effects. Mark, Ben and the rest of the team are true talent. There is no doubt in my mind that the movie will hit the big screen across the country, if not more. Congrats on your Audience choice award @ the white sands film festival. Looking forward to hear from you guys in the future. All the best, G.

mooney-ij Strings is a great movie that has suspense, romance and action. The film has a very good cast that gives it a professionalism you don't find often in indie movies. Also, the score is just amazing. It really takes the film to another level.Mark Dennis and Ben Foster did an unbelievable job considering that this is first feature film. I'm excited to see what comes next from the pair.I'm pretty sure Stings is being show at a wide variety of film festivals around the country and I highly recommend you checking it out if you can. I saw it at the Breckenridge Festival, but I think they have a full list of the showings on their site.