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I know, I know - long time no post. I'll start with a quick real-life blurb before skipping to the movie. I bought an awesome convertible chair for my office. It's big and plush, and everyone comes to visit because they like sitting in the chair. I think I'm sort of like the office therapist now, since they like to come and vent to me while sitting in the chair. Personally, I love it because it folds out to a mattress that I can lie down on during my lunches while I watch movies. The Square was the first movie I did this with. Soooo much better than the tiny mat I used to use!

The Square was recommended by several people to me as one of the best movies they saw in 2010. I don't agree with them. That's not to say the movie isn't any good - it's just one of many movies I've seen where people get into schemes that are far over their heads. I have a feeling if I had seen it in a theater, I might have gotten into it a little bit more, but seeing it on a little portable DVD player in my office didn't really allow me to get engrossed in it.

In this movie, Ray is a contractor who's having an affair with a married woman named Carla. Her husband has been up to something shady, and she finds a bag of money that he has stashed away in the attic. She convinces Ray that they should steal the money so they can run away together, against Ray's better judgment. Ray agrees and hires someone to burn down Carla's house right after she takes the money, so that her husband will think the money burned as well. An unfortunate series of events leads to an unintended tragedy, and that leads to more secret meetings, confrontations, accidents, and sadness.

What I like about the movie is the slowly-building tension at some of the key moments especially the scene where the arson is supposed to take place while Ray and Carla and their families are all out at a local neighborhood event. I especially liked Ray's character as played by David Roberts, who really does come across as a logical man who tries to deal with each situation calmly. If Ray were the only person involved in this plan, everything would probably have turned out smoothly. Unfortunately, his logical mind doesn't allow for the possibility of other people being crazy. As his plans unravel, so does Ray's calm exterior, and everything leads to an inevitable ending that didn't surprise me but was still well executed.

I like the subdued feeling of The Square, as well as the way it unfolds. Sometimes it just feels like there are a few too many variables for the story to feel authentic, but it was still worth the watch for me. It's not exactly new territory in storytelling, but it's effective storytelling.