Good concept, poorly executed.

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

for years a VHS copy of one movie or another that i owned featured a "preview" of this, and finally i happened upon it at the video store. why not? i have to say that while it lacks the flash of trainspotting this is indeed a very good movie. i don't think anyone i know has seen it. it features ben stiller in a strong dramatic performance. (which sounds rather improbable in a post zoolander landscape) and has a round cast with decent performances. parts of the movie seem rushed at times and background characters don't get fleshed out as much as needed, they almost seem like the corners and contours of the machine pinballing the main character from point to point, but maybe that's the point. even janeane garofalo manages to be in this movie and not come off right away as playing herself, which is fortunate because she could be a great actress. the portrayal of addiction mentality is somewhat realistic with what i've seen in others (though economically more outlandish) i'm going to be kind and give it an 8.5 out of 10

If you don't have a main character the audience can sympathize with, if you handle the photography as if you were rushing through a cheap television show, then having a great cast is irrelevant. About three quarters of the way through, I lost interest and turned it off. Requiem for a Dream this is not. Requiem, though very painful to watch, was quite creatively put together, with gut wrenching performances, and characters we could hope for, even though we knew all too well just where they were going. Permanent Midnight is boring and flat, more from technique than material. Too bad. I really like Ben Stiller but a good performance on his part just wasn't enough.

The story seems to start in midway, and it seems like the movie is over before you really know about the characters other than Stillers' drug addiction. Love, hate, rage, and fear seem to arise from the characters without enough background on why they feel that way. It wasn't bad, and the acting was pretty good (Stiller was quite good as the drug addicted T.V. writer). Good to take a look at, but not something you'll want to see more than once,

I love this movie. I've probably seen it at least 10 times. The last time I saw it, I was at the Red Cross donating platelets. The process takes up to 2 hours, and they let you bring in a movie to watch while you lie motionless in the donor chair. Imagine watching this film with fat needles stuck in BOTH of your arms . . . Yes, this movie is choppy. Yes, this movie is uneven. But it all seems completely appropriate. None of that interfered with my total immersion into this gritty, stylish, and dark tale. Ben Stiller is absolutely fantastic. I found his performance very convincing. I think the best dramatic actors are those who came up through the avenues of comedy ("funny comes from a sad place"). Jim Carrey and Robin Williams are further proof of this -- no one can cry on cue like these guys.Add in other terrific performances by Owen Wilson, Janeane Garofalo, Fred Willard, Peter Greene, Sheryl Ladd, Andy Dick, Charlie Fleischer, and even Jerry Stahl. There were some really shocking scenes in this film, especially the crack smoking scene where they jumped against the plate glass windows. Great film.