I found the direction of the film a little too busy. Penn seemed too interested in stuffing the film with all kinds of techniques (split screen, wipes, slow-mo, speed-ups, zooms) that drew attention to themselves. And at one point he lets the leading actor (who gives an outstanding and charismatic performance) jam his face right into the camera grinning which took me right out of the movie. Why on earth would he have kept in that shot?