Antitrust

Antitrust casts Ryan Phillippe as Milo Hoffman, a brilliant programmer who’s convinced to take a job with a high-profile technology firm by no less than the boss himself (Tim Robbins’ Gary Winston) – with complications ensuing as Milo becomes increasingly convinced that Robbins’ seemingly friendly character is using shady tactics to get ahead. Scripter Howard Franklin has employed a far-from-subtle sensibility that never becomes the problem one might’ve anticipated, as Antitrust benefits substantially from Peter Howitt’s stylish (and brisk) direction and a series of engaging, affable performances – with Phillippe’s charismatic turn as the central character matched by a supporting cast that includes Claire Forlani, Rachael Leigh Cook, and Richard Roundtree. (Robbins’ typically stellar work here stands as an obvious highlight, of course.) And while the film remains perfectly watchable from start to finish, Antitrust doesn’t wholeheartedly take off until it morphs into a flat-out, fast-paced thriller – with the inclusion of several unexpected plot twists only heightening the movie’s atmosphere of impressive tension. There’s ultimately little within Antitrust that flat-out doesn’t work, and it’s clear that the film remains a cut above its geared-towards-teens thriller brethren – with the absence of such movies within contemporary multiplexes certainly quite a shame.

*** out of ****