Wicker Park

The four main characters are all odd, sad and lonely. No wonder they don't call each other on their cells to straighten things out -- they're all too depressed to dial.

Wicker Park is one of those maddening movies in which the characters do incredibly stupid things simply for the sake of plot contrivance, and everyone's problems would be solved if they simply picked up their cell phones.

A quite extraordinarily boring psychological drama of obsession, impersonation and mistaken identity.

Wicker Park then doubles back on itself, layering flashback upon flashback, but instead of building toward a grand romantic climax, it just gets sillier before exploding into a torrent of unintended laughs.

Wicker Park is built on such a goofy premise that your average soap-opera scriptwriter would laugh it out of a story meeting.

There are some striking visuals and Hartnett is a magnetic presence.

Both bland and slightly daft.

Tortuously twisting in on itself, Wicker Park keeps you guessing as it keeps its central pair apart. But it's scuppered by a plodding obviousness that's underlined by a sledgehammer soundtrack.

Convoluted though this plot may seem, at least the inventive visuals from Gangster No 1 director Paul McGuigan keep you engrossed.

These four characters bounce off each other, slowly revealing motivations and desires and deceptions, providing a mildly entertaining, but ultimately shallow, experience.