Cebalord Very best movie i ever watch

Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

evemarietou I have admired Michael Pitt for his excellence as an actor and an artist for almost seven years. His captivating performance as an American student in Paris in Bernardo Bertolucci's erotic, political drama "The Dreamers" (2003) reeled me in, and ever since, I have been rather bewitched by him. Though he is described as commonly portraying troubled, emotionally fractured characters, Pitt's body of work is rich, his performances varied and complex. His performance in Brett C. Leonard's aptly named "Jailbait" (2004) is no different.In the film, Pitt excels through his understated portrayal of a sensitive young man named Randy, whose third felony results in a twenty-five-year prison sentence. His dialogue is spare, but Pitt compensates for that through a striking ability to convey a broad range of emotions -- sorrow, remorse, relief, fear. His expressiveness brought an added dimension to a character that might have been flat if played by a less competent actor. Yet, as difficult as I often found it to tear my eyes away from Pitt, it is Stephen Adley Guirgis who truly shines through his portrayal of Randy's erratic cell mate. Without giving away too many details, as Jake, Guirgis is, in a word, unnerving. He brought an element of suspense that I felt transcended the usual portrayals of sociopathic prisoners in film. Though one reviewer suggested that the film is predictable, the tension between Jake and Randy was so palpable and disarming that I could never fully anticipate what would transpire from scene to scene. This tension was strengthened by Leonard's use of muted colors, primarily blue, for the cinematography and a soundtrack so subdued that it integrated seamlessly with dialogue and scene. With that said, "Jailbait" is not a perfect film. While many films are a bit overdone, with scenes that do little to service or further the story, this one could benefit from some extra 'padding'. But "Jailbait" isn't like most feature-length films. It is less of a story or a memoir than a snapshot. Those who seek a linear plot with a definitive ending won't find it here. And those seeking a stylized prison drama featuring gangs and heavy doses of machismo will be disappointed. But if you're looking for an understated, well-acted independent drama -- or a snapshot of the life of a young man in prison -- look no further than "Jailbait".

mrwhitekeitel I started watching this movie with no pre-conceived notions. (I only decided to see it based on the presence of Michael Pitt, who has proved himself to be a very capable young actor, and that it was produced by the same producer as L.I.E. I had heard nothing about it.)I wish I had read a review before hand and saved myself some time and money. (Though the review I read here for it wouldn't have stopped me from seeing the film. They seemed to think simplicity means "art".) The acting was surprisingly good. That I am willing to say. If you want an acting class on how to react silently on film, Pitt's performance is sublime. Sadly, those moments do not save this clunker of a movie.Some times you see a movie that was based on a play and you can feel the story not fitting the medium of film. This was a very similar experience to that. It was like watching a badly lit stage play with close ups. You are robbed of the joy of going to see a play while also being robbed of the pleasures of film. They are two completely different mediums and this movie fit neither one.If it was play at a local theater, I would recommend it solely based on the mental exercise that would accompany the play on the ride home. But as a film, I must say this movie left me feeling flat. The camera felt intrusive. The pace felt forced. The violence seemed tame and unreal. Even the dialouge seemed as if it were written by someone who had never seen the inside of a prison. (Or if they had, it was in 1957.)The actors clearly did the best they could. They had to take this job for the chance to do good work and not for money, but sadly the direction and script didn't allow them to make a movie you don't forget about ten minutes before the credits even start.

crescent-1 I just recently saw this fil at the Woodstock Film Festival and found it .... amazing.Michael Pitt and Stephen Adly-Guirgis were incredibly perfect for these roles. It was the first time that I had seen either actor and the cinematography made you feel claustrophobic and trapped as a prison cell. I think it really hit home about the prison system and how young men are raped and mentally abused by cellmates. It should send a message to the judicial system to monitor prisoners more and keep "chickens" from the hawks. Extremely provoking and sad. One of the best films of 2004.

Havan_IronOak `When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes' from one of Shakespeare's sonnets was used in 1967 (before Stonewall) as the title of a play about men in prison and the sexual games that were played there.Jailbait covers much the same territory and it would appear (if this movie is taken at face value) that some parts of society haven't moved ahead at all.In this prison drama, essentially a two-man play, we see the interaction between the hardened lifer Jake and the much younger, much more frail Randy (played by Michael Pitt)The first scene with the two men is deceptively mild but towards the end of that scene we see that there is menace just below the surface of Jake's behavior. From the `wounded doe' look in Randy's eyes at the beginning of the second scene we can begin to see that something is wrong and while what it is seems pretty obvious (given that it's a prison movie) we are not really certain for some timeUnfortunately the movie doesn't progress much from there. Like the men, we seemed sentenced to remain in the same place for much longer than we'd choose to.This movie is worth seeing as a character study and there are some memorable bits but it seemed to cover no new ground nor present any new perspectives over the 30 year old Fortune and Men's Eyes (albeit this one showed that it had a much better budget and was by far more polished)I was ultimately left unfulfilled and wondering why this movie had been made.