Anti Trust

Starring: Rachael Leigh Cook, Ryan Phillippe Director: Peter Howitt Original UK Premiere: 2001 Dvd Release: 1st October, 2001 Number Of Discs: 1 Format: Anamorphic, PAL, Widescreen, Region 2 Encoding

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Antitrust is a 2001 film directed by Peter Howitt & written by Howard Franklin. The cast included Ryan Phillippe, Rachael Leigh Cook, Claire Forlani, Tim Robbins, Douglas McFerran, Richard Roundtree, Tygh Runyan & Yee Jee Tso. The film is a thriller portraying young idealistic programming enthusiasts from the open source community & a big closed source company which offers money, a playful working environment & creative opportunites to talented programmers if they are willing to work for them. The charismatic CEO of NURV seems at first to be good natured, but eventually the hero of the story starts to unravel the terrible hidden truth of NURVs operation. Tim Robbins CEO character seemed to be based on Bill Gates.

DVD Extras: The Dolby Digital 5.1 sound is highly atmospheric, though the anamorphically enhanced 2.35:1 image is only average, some grain & artefacting letting down the sleek look & elegant design of the film. Cracking the Code is a routine 22-minute making of documentary, while the audio commentary by director Peter Howitt & editor Zach Staenberg spends a lot of time stating the obvious.

Anti-Trust is a gripping thriller, & although far from being great filmmaking it is at least notable for being about something important & having the will to follow it through. Macro software company NURV, based on a giant campus in the Pacific North West & under investigation by the Department of Justice, is planning to launch a proprietary broadband Internet. Ryan Philippe is adequate as the young geek hero, though Tim Robbins dominates the film as CEO Gary Winston, a skilfully cutting interpretation of a power-corrupted software multibillionaire; Gary Sinise offers an equally compelling characterisation. Peter Howitt directs in broad strokes, keeping things exciting if not exactly subtle, while Don Davis score is alternately suspenseful & overblown. Howard Franklins screenplay offers surprising plot detail & a couple of good twists while straining credulity with hoary thriller clichés. Nevertheless, the technical stuff is far more accurate than usual, despite the Hollywood compromises. Anti-Trust provides a rallying cry against the global domination of global communications for the profit of the few, the final 15 minutes delivering an uplifting if simplistic wish-fulfilment fantasy.

Rachael Leigh Cook is an American actress. Cook was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She began working as a model at the age of 10. At 14, Cook began auditioning for acting work. She first gained national attention when she was featured in a series of public service anti-drug ads. Success in the acting profession followed quickly & she debuted in The Baby-Sitters Club. Her two biggest roles to date have been the leads in Shes All That & Josie & the Pussycats. Cook has also appeared in a number of independent films. Posters Of Rachael Leigh Cook

Editors Choice: Shes All That, Scorched, 29 Palms, Josie And The Pussycats, Tangled, View DVDology

Ryan Phillippe is an American actor. His first role was as Billy Douglas, daytime televisions first gay teenager, in the ABC daytime drama One Life to Live. After leaving the show, he moved to Los Angeles where he struggled for a time before landing a number of small parts in various television shows & movies, including White Squall. Later that year he played the part of Barry Cox in I Know What You Did Last Summer with Jennifer Love Hewitt. The movie was a summer hit & lead to a starring role in 54 in 1998, alongside Salma Hayek, Mike Myers & Breckin Meyer. In 1999, Phillippe landed the role of Sebastian Valmont in Cruel Intentions, a modern retelling of the Choderlos de Laclos novel, Les Liaisons Dangereuses. The movie was both a critical & box office hit amongst its intended teenage audience. This was the second time that Phillippe had worked alongside televisions Buffy the Vampire Slayer star, Sarah Michelle Gellar. In 2000 Phillippe starred opposite Benicio Del Toro in The Way of the Gun, followed with his role as a wizard software engineer in the high-tech thriller Antitrust. Posters Of Ryan Phillippe

Editors Choice: Cruel Intentions, The I Inside, Gosford Park, Studio 54, View DVDology

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