Apart from seeing his Blue Velvet starlet in a perfect role for her age group, the movie makes you ask questions. This movie really makes people look at cause and effect. It doesn't place blame, rather shows implications of well intentioned, ignorant motivations. As a viewer, you may have to do some soul searching in order to fully enjoy the movie. The meaning of each scene as it is broken up, is a definite plus. At first I was put off by the back and forth breakup of the shots but soon began to conform to the format. I liked the performances of all the actors. It was nice to see Rosselini in her usual subdued role and equally effective. To see the lead actor in a spectacular role I might suggest Lantana!

Imagine yourself on a riverbank prodding mud with a stick; the dirt is unsettled, stirs in the water, settles down again. In this film we're introduced to a number of characters who cross paths, and whose conflicts overlap on occasion before settling to a passive resolution.The confrontation between the architect of a dilapidated housing project and a dissatisfied resident forms the central vein in a network of sadly uninteresting stories.There is no surprise, and no insight brought to the representation of a young girl who in alienation craves affection; nor to the truck driver who doesn't want to ruin her first time; nor to the teenage boy accepting he's gay, nor to the grieving mother in the projects and finally, there is no insight into the proud man who doesn't want to admit his ego blinds him. Here we find a few people we've all seen before. They barely talk to each other and - unlike real people - when they do talk they say exactly what you'd expect them to say. Don't be tricked into thinking this film is asking any kind of question about family or race. If that's true, what's the question? The pretentious and two-dimensional nature of this writing is most transparent in the final scene wherein the architect and his son meet on a rooftop in the projects. Finally they have something to talk about: through my actions I have been the architect of someone's suffering, but there was no indication that I should have done anything differently - like father like son? Well, here the film ends abruptly, safe, risk-free. Not taking risks in your writing is not especially clever, let's not make a point of it.And unlike any number of films where stronger character sketches guide the narrative, time is linear in this picture; you won't see events intertwining or taking place simultaneously, nothing is revealed as cause or effect. "Crash", to which this film has been compared, and "American Beauty" had engaging narrative formats that compelled you to unravel a mystery. A director is an architect of sorts, and the director of this film is just like the architect he depicts - he's merely housing people in a flat, familiar, boring rectangle. There's no drama or vision, so we have to ask: what's the function?

Depressing and meaningless pap. It is like one of those French movies where you are supposed to just know that life is meaningless, hopeless and futile without having to say why. I mean, we all just know that it is all hopeless, right?The whole concept of an architect of some buildings being responsible for how the people there act later was also very weak. All of the characters are unlikeable except the daughter, who is also a very depressing character as well. As we join them, all is lost emotionally for everyone, and we are never really told why. The characters just do not come across as being real, no one is that totally depressed and without some joy or some positivity in life whatsoever.Stupid movie, Crash was ten times better than this useless movie.

I saw The Architect at the Tribeca Film festival earlier this year, and it has really stuck with me. It's one of those movies that asks tough questions about difficult issues like race, sexual identity and economic justice, and leaves room for the viewer to form their own opinions. Unlike the movie Crash, which deals with many of the same themes, there are no spoon fed answers in this film. Instead of one dimensional characters the Architect brings to life some complex and flawed individuals, and shows us their struggles to find the right path. Some really strong performances here, especially from Viola Davis. If you get a chance to see it, I highly recommend it.