The ideas here are profoundly interesting and cleverly investigated by both the script and cinematographer-turned-director Sarossy. The film looks fantastic, all dripping greys and glaring whites. And the vaguely familiar actors all deliver solid performances, especially Howard, whose blond, blue-eyed, teddy bear physicality sits intriguingly at odds with his sadistic professionalism. But this genre has been done to death; we've seen it all before, from the grisly torture scenes and cartoonish mob bosses to the innocents in danger and the hopeless romantic yearning. And stylish or not, it looks extremely seedy and dreary, echoing the grim plot, which begins to feel corny as it spirals out of control as revenge and death take over from the more thoughtful, provocative story elements (which do take over again at the end). It's all just a bit too gothic and dark, flattening any emotions completely so we really don't care if Jon manages to atone for his sins or not. Well-made, but why would anyone want to see it?