In this world of splendidly dark nights, bright stars and brilliant sunrises, at once benign and terrifying, even the dullest of souls can feel the urge to reflect in new ways about the relationship between the transitory and the eternal.
The director, Curtis Hanson ("The River Wild, " "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle"), has done his film noir homework, yet his movie feels bright and new, as if he's piercing those long-ago Los Angeles nights with halogen headlights.