This movie's original title was Mindscape, and I don't blame them for changing it; it would have been a terrible title. Anna isn't all that much better, as it unnecessarily changes the focus of the movie from the struggling hero to the girl that he tries to help. The idea behind the movie is that there are people who can guide you through your own memories to unlock the truth of alibis and such, and they get paid a lot of money to do it. Mindscape is a company that employs people like that, and only the rich can afford them.
Mark Strong plays one of these mindwalkers (no, that wouldn't make a good name, but it would still have been better) who is just getting over his own mental issues and trying to get back into the swing of things by taking on a new client. Mark usually does a good job of acting, and he actually does a very good job in his role in this movie.
Taissa Farmiga is the titular Anna, and she does a very good job in her role as a scheming teenage girl who won't eat for no reason that we can work out as an audience. More interestingly, she never seems weak or as if she is having any deleterious effects from not having any food for weeks on end. It is very, very apparent very early on that she has more going on underneath the surface than Mark is catching, but I'm not sure if we were supposed to figure the whole thing out before he did or not. As an audience member, I can say that we very much see the whole thing coming.
Brian Cox is one of the most reliable supporting actors I can think of. I really like him in most of his roles, but they have to be big enough for him to breathe in. This one is really kind of small, and there isn't a whole lot he can do with it this side of act his best and improve the scenes that he's in. A bigger role might have been better for him, but I can't say for sure.
Predictability is this movie's Achilles' heel. The characters react predictably, the story progresses predictably, and the story even ends relatively predictably. One of the things we weren't (presumably) supposed to figure out was about the mustachioed person who seems to always be at a bit of a distance. It wasn't that hard to figure out. I find this movie is similar to The Best Offer in that it is a well told story about nothing useful.
Direction was okay
Acting was very good
Effects were good
Mood was set well
Story was weak.
2.0/5