I must say, this is one of the more bizarre and interesting movies I've watched in a long time. The twists were great I thought. Very unexpected outcomes. We all need to suspend our disbelief when watching anything, maybe that was a problem for the people that gave this such a low rating on IMDb, but for me, the writing and acting made me stick with it, and I'm glad I did!So far, any movie I've watched with Tobey Maguire has worked for me, I think it's because he picks vehicles that are interesting. He is one of my favorite actors and never disappoints.Solid 8 stars!

I don't think there is a single thing funny about this film. As someone else said, "The War of the Roses" is a great dark comedy, this is just dark. The acting was terrible, especially Laura Linney, who is a great actress, which suggests that she was being directed to go over the top and to play it far too broadly. She seemed to be in a different film at times. No one comes out of this film well though, I don't know what any of them were thinking. It might have been different with James McAvoy in the lead, because that guy can out-act Tobey Maguire with his hands tied, but I think he was smarter to get out of it.SPOILER:Aside from already loathing the film, but being in a position where I couldn't turn it off because other people were watching it too, except the friend who'd fallen asleep on my shoulder, the very worst part of this film was how it used animals within its pathetic storyline. The crazy neighbor, Laura Linney, loses her cat supposedly to the poison Tobey Maguire put out for the raccoons, and she shows it to him, taking its dead body out of the fridge where she's keeping it in an open, decorated box as if it were a cake, emphasizing her crazy cat lady looniness. Weak. Later Tobey Maguire deliberately runs his car at a raccoon on the road, hits it, and backs up to hit it again. The dead raccoon is then the backdrop to the couple arguing with each other. Anyone who finds this comic is just a sick jerk and anyone who ever deliberately tries to hit an animal when I'm around is not someone I would ever speak to again.

The Details is a dark comedy with an incredible cast and good writing. What I really enjoyed was the fact that the filmmakers didn't seem to sugar coat anything and try to deceive you that a perfect family exists, and that people don't struggle with temptation and guilt on everyday basis. It's a greatly exaggerated story of an ordinary man with ordinary problems that get him into an extraordinary mess. Casting is incredible, and all actors deliver great performances. Unfortunately, none of the characters, with the exception of Tobey Maguire's Jeff Lang is truly developed, which could have made that film even better. Some of the scenes seem a little redundant, for example the boat scene at the beginning of the movie, but that doesn't really spoil the movie as a whole. All in all, it's an interesting piece of work. It will probably not inspire you or stay in your memory forever, but it will definitely make you think about your actions, and how quickly things in life can get ugly.

Tobey Maguire (miscast, got no business playing opposite anybody as hot as Elizabeth Banks, but still it sort of works) is a doctor who gets himself in what appears to be a minus five sit-com. The absurdity had me wanting to get up and leave 4 or 5 times, but just when I thought all was beyond hope, Toby uses his Prius to commit the murder of an errant raccoon, and confesses everything including complicity in a murder, to his wife. It is an absolutely outstanding scene, and lifted me up out of the muck I'd been wallowing in.Suffice it to say that his troubles are initiated by the continuing irritant of excessive bureaucratic government regulations and social pressures (he lives in Seattle and the Prius has an Obama sticker on the bumper, and he's even afraid to hose a raccoon much less shoot it. Guns...ick.) After reciting the litany of his transgressions and betrayals to her in the car, he says, "OK, so far that's the good news". The last 10-15 minutes are priceless and worth the muck to get there. Elizabeth Banks is superb in that scene, and Laura Linney is great throughout as the neurotic, obnoxious next door neighbor. There is also a good scene with Ray Liotta that sort of sets up Maguire's catharsis.Could also be titled, "The Devil is in the Details", "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished", "The Truth Shall Set You Free--Sort Of", or "Wherefore Absolution?". The philosophical and moral issues it raises could start at least half a dozen arguments all by themselves.EDIT ADD: I watched this a second time and, knowing what happens makes the first part not seem so sit-com....ish. The excellent scene with Liotta on the Skagit R. Bridge starts the second half of the movie which justifies the first. I don't know what could be done to fix it, except maybe make sure people watch the preview first, which I hadn't. Whatever, just watch it! This could actually become a cult classic, something we haven't had many worthwhile examples of for a good while.