Screen It! is not attempting to rate the movie as good or bad but to give parents the tools to decide whether it's appropriate for their kids.
This movie has been screened for objectional content in 15 areas. Click for a detailed look.
OUR WORD TO PARENTS:
The following is a brief summary of the content found in this R-rated
dramatic thriller.
Violence
is rated as extreme due to several murders, two of
which occur on camera and one of which is rather bloody. Those scenes and
several others may also be
unsettling
and/or
suspenseful
to some viewers, and
the assailant obviously has a serious case of
bad attitudes
.
Profanity
includes at least 4 uses of the "f" word, while a handful of
other profanities and colorful phrases also occur. Some heterosexual activity
is partially seen, some homosexual undertones run throughout parts of the
film, and some
nudity
(male rear and brief male full frontal) is also present
as are a few lines of
sexually related dialogue
.
Moderate amounts of
smoking
and
drinking
are also present. Should you still
be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in
your home who may wish to see this film, we suggest that you take a closer
look at our more detailed
content listings
.
- QUICK TAKE:
- Drama/Suspense: Assuming his new best friend's identity after that man's
death, a young man tries to maintain his ruse as various people become
suspicious of him.
- WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?
- If they're fans of Damon, Paltrow or Law, they just might, but this one
seems most attractive to older teens.
- WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R
- For violence, language and brief nudity.
- CAST AS ROLE MODELS:
-
- MATT DAMON plays a young, bisexual or homosexual man whose friendship,
fascination and attraction to a handsome young playboy eventually leads to him
killing that man and assuming his identity and trying to maintain that ruse.
He also kills others, smokes and drinks.
-
- GWYNETH PALTROW plays a young writer and lover to Dickie who becomes
suspicious of Tom after Dickie "disappears."
-
- JUDE LAW plays a young and spoiled playboy who spends his time lounging
and playing in Europe, much to his father's chagrin and bank account. He
briefly uses heavy profanity, smokes, drinks and reportedly got another woman
pregnant (while also sleeping with Marge).
-
- CATE BLANCHETT plays an American who gets to know Tom, but only in his
guise of playing Dickie.
-
- PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN plays a friend of Dickie's who becomes suspicious
of Tom after Dickie's disappearance, and he uses strong profanity.
-
- JACK DAVENPORT plays a friend of Marge's who seemingly becomes something
of a lover of Tom's.
DETAILED CONTENT LISTING:
Click on a category for specific details or scroll through the page for a broader overview.
EXTREME
Disrespectful/Bad Attitude |
Violence |
HEAVY
Blood/Gore |
Music (Scary/Tense) |
Profanity |
Sex/Nudity |
MODERATE
Guns/Weapons |
Alcohol/Drugs |
Frightening/Tense Scenes |
Smoking |
MILD/MINOR/NONE
Imitative Behavior |
Topics To Talk About |
Music (Inappropriate) |
Tense Family Scenes |
Jump Scenes |
- ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE: MODERATE
-
- People have drinks during a singer's performance.
- Dickie and Marge have drinks.
- Dickie asks Tom if he can mix a martini, but Marge makes them instead.
- People drink in a jazz club.
- Marge brings over drinks for Tom, Dickie and herself.
- Tom and Dickie have beer.
- Tom and Dickie have wine while playing chess.
- Tom and Dickie have wine, while Freddie shows up and also has some.
- Freddie and Dickie have drinks.
- Tom and Dickie have champagne while others also drink.
- Tom and Meredith have wine or champagne with another older couple.
- Tom drinks champagne at Christmas.
- Peter has wine for Tom and himself.
- Tom makes some drinks, but we don't see anyone having them.
- Tom mixes more drinks.
- BLOOD/GORE: MODERATE
(Return to Summary Chart)
-
- We see a dead woman's body floating in some water (but other than being
dead there's no blood or gore).
- A great deal of blood gushes out of a person's facial wounds after being
hit with an oar and blood then drips down onto his assailant's face as they
fight. Later, we see blood or bloody water inside the boat where the attack
took place as well as on the clothing of both men.
- In an opera, flowing red fabric is used to simulate blood flowing from
someone who's just been shot (in a moment of pretending).
- A bust (sculpture) is bloody after being used to strike and kill someone.
- We see some blood on Tom's robe (from where he's cut his hand on a
straight razor in the pocket). We later see his somewhat bloody hand.
- DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE: EXTREME
(Return to Summary Chart)
-
- Tom obviously has both not only for being a murderer, but also for
assuming the identity of one of his victims.
- Dickie has some of both for being an irresponsible playboy living off his
father's money and for apparently impregnating a local woman.
- Mr. Greenleaf gives Tom money to keep quiet about Dickie's sorted past.
- FRIGHTENING SCENES: MODERATE
(Return to Summary Chart)
-
- Viewers may find the murder related scenes as unsettling and/or
suspenseful.
- With Marge being quite suspicious of Tom, he slowly approaches her as she
backs up (with us knowing that he has a straight razor in the pocket of his
robe).
- GUNS/WEAPONS: *MODERATE
(Return to Summary Chart)
-
- While the following aren't traditional weapons, they are used to kill
others.
- Boat Oar/Bust: Used as weapons to strike and kills others.
- Pistols: Used in an opera in a pretend dueling fashion.
- Straight razor: Grabbed by Tom to possibly use on Marge, but it only ends
up cutting his hand while hidden in his robe pocket.
- IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR: MILD
(Return to Summary Chart)
-
- Phrases: "Jumping" (sexual), "Bastard," "Knocking up" (getting someone
pregnant), "Shut up" and "Dork."
- Some impressionable kids may want to try to imitate their friends and/or
forge their signatures like Tom does here.
- JUMP SCENES: NONE
(Return to Summary Chart)
- None.
- MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE): HEAVY
(Return to Summary Chart)
-
- A heavy amount of suspenseful and ominous music plays during the film.
- MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE): MINOR
(Return to Summary Chart)
-
- A performed song contains the phrase "whiskey and soda."
- PROFANITY: HEAVY
(Return to Summary Chart)
-
- At least 4 "f" words (3 used sexually as is the term "jumping"), 3 "s"
words, 1 slang term for male genitals ("c*ck"), 2 asses, 1 damn and 7 uses of
"Oh God" and 2 uses each of "God" and "Oh my God" as exclamations.
- SEX/NUDITY: HEAVY
(Return to Summary Chart)
-
- We see just part of several young women's bare butts as they sunbath in
moderately high-cut bathing suits while Marge wears a modest bikini and Tom
wears rather tight-fitting swim trunks.
- Dickie jokingly states (about a refrigerator Marge just bought), "I could
f*ck this icebox, I love it so much."
- Tom and Dickie play chess (with Dickie in the bathtub and Tom sitting
outside it, clothed). After Tom jokes about Dickie letting him into the tub
(with homosexual undertones although Tom adds that it would be by himself),
Dickie gets out of the tub. As such and from an aerial view, we see Dickie's
bare butt as well as a brief glimpse of full frontal nudity. We then see Tom
staring at the reflection of Dickie's bare butt (which we also see) in a
mirror.
- Freddie shows up in a plaza filled with beautiful women and states, "Don't
you want to f*ck every woman you see just once?"
- We see a classic Roman statue that shows male full frontal nudity.
- Marge shows some cleavage in a bikini.
- While out on a yacht with Tom and Freddie, Dickie goes down below stating
that he needs to perform some "Marge maintenance." We then see Tom starring
down through a deck portal at Dickie and Marge fooling around, but all that he
(and we) can see is there legs moving around, suggesting that Dickie is on top
of Marge (we do hear some sexually related sounds).
- We learn that a woman who recently died was pregnant by Dickie.
- Tom talks about Dickie "f*cking" some girl and following his "c*ck"
around.
- We nearly see full frontal nudity as Tom gets out of a bathtub (the camera
barely stays above his groin), but do briefly see his bare butt.
- A detective mentions that a witness won't talk because he was "jumping"
some other women (having sex/an affair with her).
- There's an implied homosexual relationship between Tom and another man
(they share a room on a boat/ferry), but we don't see any related activity
(other than lying on a bed together, clothed, with one putting their head on
the other's back).
- SMOKING: MODERATE
(Return to Summary Chart)
-
- Dickie smokes more than five times, while Tom smokes a few times.
Meanwhile, both Meredith and Marge smoke once, and some
miscellaneous/background characters also smoke.
- TENSE FAMILY SCENES: MINOR
(Return to Summary Chart)
-
- Some family members react to finding a loved one's body floating in some
water.
- A father reacts to his son's disappearance and partially believed suicide.
- TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT: MILD
(Return to Summary Chart)
-
- People who become obsessed with others (wanting to look and act or even be
exactly like them).
- VIOLENCE: EXTREME
(Return to Summary Chart)
-
- We hear what sounds like domestic violence above Tom's place and even see
dust falling from the ceiling due to that unseen behavior.
- We see a dead woman's body floating in some water.
- Dickie violently kicks over a chair holding a record player.
- Dickie slaps Tom several times and nearly punches him with his raised
fist. Tom then hits Dickie on the head with an oar, causing a great deal of
blood to gush out of his wounds. Bleeding profusely, Dickie then grabs Tom and
tries to strangle him. Tom eventually gains control and pushes the oar down
into Dickie's body, and then delivers several severe, fatal blows to him (our
view of that impact is blocked by the boat that they're in).
- In an opera, a person is shot during a duel (obviously faked with red
flowing fabric used to simulate flowing blood).
- Tom repeatedly hits a man over the head with a bust, killing him (we only
see the first few impacts, but do see that the bust is now bloody).
- Marge hits Tom many times.
- It's implied that Tom kills another person (we hear the audio feedback of
the act).
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